


•On the Way Down•

by threeandthirteen



Category: Durarara!!
Genre: F/M, Fanfiction, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Gang Violence, Gangs, Izaya Being Izaya (Durarara!!), Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-04-11
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:00:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 35,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23337271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/threeandthirteen/pseuds/threeandthirteen
Summary: (Late to the party revamping an old fic of mine)Jiro Hitomi has lived her entire life in Ikebukuro, living the ups and downs of the wild city surrounded by her friends. High school was one thing but finding where life drags her as an adult is without question a wild and sometimes adrenaline filled ride.
Relationships: Kadota Kyouhei/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

The rancid smell of alcohol was potent throughout the cramped bar. It saturated everything and choked every new comer entering the bar along with the smoke cloud clinging to the ceiling and making the odor twice as pungent in this tight space. Regardless the patrons in the bar took deep breaths like alcohol and smoke was their drug of choice. Even when it burned going down.

A newcomer this late in the evening, a burly man with as many teeth missing as stains on his shirt, lumbered into the bar. Going a head and plopping himself down on one of the small bar stools that lined the counter. With few patrons skirting the walls and even fewer remaining at the bar now that it was well pass one in the morning. The rowdy brute slammed his fist down on the cheap lament covered counter to order attention for someone to sever him now.

Late enough in the night as it was on a Sunday, only two bartenders were stationed to work. A man and a woman. Both waiters looked complacent at each other. Here was another troublemaker. But neither of them cared as he just blended into the rest of the rugged drunks that frequented the watering hole. After a handful of boisterous orders and some choice words from the man, it was the the woman who came over to serve the man and shut him up with a drink.

"What will you have sir?" she asked as politely and peppy as the beginning of her shift even though she'd repeated herself what felt like a million times today. 

"Oooo," the man leaned forward on his haunches and looked at the name tag above her chest, "Jiro Hitomi, aren't you a sweet looking piece of eye candy." The man cackled only to grab the collar of her work shirt without an ounce of hesitation, "Come here and give me a lil sugar on these rims woman!" He bellowed while tugging at Jiro's shirt and trying to grope whatever part of her he could find with his free hand.

"Aye! Enough knock it off!" Jiro yelling more of anger than genuine fear of this trashed heathen. Raising a hand above her head, she made contact squarely across the face with all of her palm.

For the echo in the bar it made, the damage was surely minimal. The man turned his face and spat a wad of spit trailed with streaks of blood across the room, "I like em with _fight_ ," A smiled crossed his scaly lips, revealing rotted and missing teeth filling his grin. Then he jerked on Jiro's white button down shirt.

The deafening sound of ripping fabric caught all the other patron's attention instantly in this tiny space. Eyes from all the rest of the men and women in the bar converged on the ruckus happening at the bar. With an audience now the rotten drunkard drew her face right up to his and Jiro could smell the scent of stale alcohol seep from his partially agape mouth. She gagged and wiggled in protest to the treatment of her own body. He paid her no heed as she struggle with every fiber in her. Then the man reached around and grab a handful of her ass in his calloused hand even when all eyes were on him.

" _Hey_!" Jiro shrieked absolutely past her limit now. This was not going to be the end of her shift. She struggled wildly and balled her fist to make contact with his chest and face him multiply times. The man ignored her attacks and just began trying to feel her up more. Jiro screamed and fought but all the men drinking at the bar laughed and pointed at the scene. Seeming to take pleasure in the horrible scene. While the scant few women left over from the evening tipped their heads down and held their breath it wasn't them for once. Flailing it was a seemingly lost battle for the bartender.

Just as the burly mans huge hand was going to invade her ripped shirt. A drink cooler few over the counter and made audible contact with the man's face. Missing Jiro by a single hair on her head. But missing her regardless when she crouched down to the counter and the assailant fell back with a squelching noise from thing that shouldn't have made that noise.

"Ooof-!" he grunt even interrupted as the giant cooler made him loose his grip on his prey. Jiro fell back over the counter and onto her bottom just as the man fell to the ground with a heavy thud. Wincing she looked up and saw who threw the large cooler. It was the other bartender working with her.

"GET YOUR FILTHY ASS HANDS OFF HER!" the blond bartender roared. The rage behind his shades growing by the second. He picked up another small refrigerator and tossed it over the counter and at the attacker. Down already this man had every intent of killing the violent interloper with a taste of his own medicine, "BASTARD! BASTARD! BASTARD! DON'T TOUCH MY FRIEND!"

"What in the fucking hell?!" People scattered out of the way before the second fridge even was air born. Woman shrieked in terror as the furniture began flying every where like artillery in a war zone. Even the men left ducked under tables or darted towards the door out of self preservation.

"Watch out!" Someone shouted as a freezer flew out a window and sent a spray of broken glass in all directions of the side street. Passerby's peered in on the war zone but quickly ran for cover when they saw what was happening. And even more so when they caught a glimpse of who was causing it.

The man responsible for the flying furniture picked up the blooded burly assailant and socked him right in the face like the heavy machinery wasn't enough. The strike sent the unconscious fool flying across the room into a booth. The fellow bartender was about to attack once more when Jiro's ear piercing scream broke through all the panic in the building.

"Shizuo Heiwajima! Stop it right now!" He snapped around to see just in time as said woman slapped him squarely across the cheek. Shizuo reeled back in a daze but no more than looking down at her with utter confusion suddenly on his face. Jiro did not share the same expression just as her eyes narrowed and her entire body tensed ready for a fight, "Knock it off now Shizuo." Jiro reiterated in a dead cold tone.

"....Wai....what...what's going on? Jiro?" Shizuo palmed his face to push his hair from his face and questioned the sudden situation in a stupor. A shriek went off in the background when someone discovered the bloodied body of the bar patron assailant. Sirens in the background and the screams piling onto each other, soon all of it numbed themselves out into a nothing buzz filling the woman's head.

With that, a heavy sigh escaped Jiro's lips and she shrugged heavily at all of it, "You did it again Shizuo. You just- Seriously."

He looked around to see all the damage. People's bodies sprawled everywhere. Broken chairs and dented refrigerators turned top over end. Drunken grown men cowering in terror at Shizuo's wrath. Screams of frightened humans every where around them. Incriminating for the two individuals standing their without a concerned look on their faces in the slightest.

"I...but...I didn't-." Shizuo stuttered and shook his head, instant regret when the sour taste of violence converged on him.

"I know you can't," Jiro looked sadly around. The police would becoming soon. They always did respond quick within these tiny skirmishes. They'd suspect gang activity but here in Ikebukuro one look at Shizuo's familiar mug and they'd know who really did this.

Taking the blonde mans hand firmly in her own, she lead him towards the bars exit, "Come on Shizzy, we gotta get outta here." Gone and out the back alley before the police sirens even drew close enough for them to spot the suspects. No matter how quickly they could get out of a place, it always felt like a close call.

They pressed through a string of doors and sprinted out through the dingey kitchen and out to the alley. Jiro slammed the door shut behind them and looked both ways with heightened fear someone would catch them leaving the scene. Down to the left on the street, cars and people were already piling up alike. Jiro felt the same old knot in her stomach tightening up as the panic set in. Squeezing Shizuo's hand eased some of the apprehension and Jiro immediately led him to the right instead. Towards the dark cover of the sleeping Ikebukuro.

Feet pounding the worn cement of the side alleys and cramped little spaces between buildings, Jiro and Shizuo ran for a good ten minutes. Slipping through as many deserted nooks and crannies in the city that they could find. They're hands still clutching one another desperately for guidance. Jiro lead Shizuo as his mind still cleared away the rage from the outburst and fight. All Shizuo could did was follow.

Soon Jiro's running eased to a slow dribbling walk. Huge concrete buildings dwarfing the two run away's silhouettes for any peeping eyes. Shizuo let his friends hand slip from his weak grasp as he came to a complete stopped. She turned around and looked at her friend remembering in the moment of reprieve that there was in fact two of them.

"Shit Shizuo, your bleeding," Jiro sighed with a twinge of sadness as the visible line of blood trickle slowly down his forehead and turning the tips of his blond hair crimson with no sign of stopping out right. Reaching up she wiped it away and saw he'd popped a blood vessel front the dead lift of two refrigerators and another freezer over his head. Jiro looked around for something to wipe Shizuo's forehead with. Nothing even close in the concrete park they found themselves in. Improvising, she decided to just tear off a piece of the torn fabric on her work blouse.

"Your uniform..." Shizuo muttered faintly while Jiro blotted the blood off his face.

"Doesn't matter," Jiro curt and short with her reply. Not helping to look down at the threads hanging from the thoroughly ruined shirt. She had just purchased this shirt to replace her last shirt that an eager bar patron had ripped.

"But," Shizuo started with the shirt thing. Jiro suddenly stepped on his foot and caught him off guard with the surprised feeling. He winced in mere nod to the pain. But didn't make a noise.

"Stop talking," Jiro ordered dryly while finishing up her half ass cleaning job. Wiping the last dot of blood away, Jiro stepped back gave Shizuo a reassuring smile just as much for herself as it was for him, "It's fine. Everything's fine, just cool it a moment Shizzy."

Shizuo ignored the nickname and looked up from her clearly lying smile to the night sky. The lights from the skyscrapers killed almost all the stars that lived above them. Nothing but radiant light could be seen down here with the humans. Shizuo sighed and shoved his hands in the pockets of his navy blue slacks.  
"...Sorry bout all this," Shizuo apologized while scuffing his shoe on the concrete ground beneath them. Not making eye contact with her like a guilty child waiting to be scolded.

Jiro shrugged that away and sat on a near by bench she spotted earlier when they came into the small park area. At this rate her feet hurt less from standing all day and it was her legs killing her after that panicked sprint away from the bar. Shizuo came over and pulled a cigarette carton out of his pocket before sitting down beside her. Tipping one of the cigs out of it's nestled home, he took it in his mouth and lit it just to take a long deep drag. Holding onto the acrid smoke in his lungs until Shizuo tilted his head back and let the smoke plume from his pursed lips, "I'm still sorry..."

"Oh well, shit happens," Jiro replied to his pointless self remorse since it already happened. No reason not to she leaned back into the bench just to gaze up at the star less sky with her friend.

A long pause drew out like the smoke escaping Shizuo's lips. Jiro sighed heavily and reached into her pants pocket. Shizuo shot her a side ways look just to see if she was going what he thought she was.

Shizuo took a drag, "You gonna call him?" His words escaping with the smoke past his lips.

"What?" Jiro arched her dark blonde eye brow at him at the cryptic comment.

Shizuo puffed out the last three clouds of smoke from his cigarette just to flick the spent butt aside and gazed upwards into the night sky, "Kyohei. He usually comes and gets our asses after I do this kinda stuff."

"You just wanna see Kyohei don'tcha Shizzy?" Jiro smirked devilishly as she slide her phone out just to try and lighten the mood.

There was no real response and Shizuo remained staring up. Shining up at her from her phone left the woman wondering if their friend would even be awake at nearly two in the morning. Part of her didn't even want to bother him. But the smallest nagging part just sought some form of comfort with as frayed as her nerves still were. Not to mention the first place anyone would check would be their shared apartment. Heading back home after god only knew what seemed like a recipe for disaster. Swallowing the humility Jiro hit speed dial and raised the phone to her ear. Shizuo heard the ringing clearly on the other end. One ring, two rings, three rings, four rings. They got worried, maybe their friend was asleep. Five rings.

"Jiro?" a groggy voice picked up.

"Kyohei...hey," Jiro mumbled softly into the phone. Shizuo relaxed and rested his arms outstretched on the back of the bench.

"What did Shizuo do?" Their friend's sleepy voice rousing up a bit on the other end.

"Pff," Shizuo snorted with what he heard on the other end and simply took out a new cigarette to worry between pursed lips.

"Ha ya," Jiro faked a laugh at her friends intuition. This really seemed to happen enough anyone could catch up on the trend. She leaned forward on her elbows propped on her knees and clutched the phone close to her ear. A nervous hand picked out a thick strand of blond hair from the now thrashed bun and began twirling it between her fingers rhythmically just to self soothe to any extent, "We had an accident at work. Some dude got rowdy with me and Shizuo flipped out. We don't know if he actually...you know...or not."

Jiro explained a few more details to Kyohei. She then tossed a look over to Shizuo and saw that he was tensing up with the recount. Reaching over Jiro took Shizuo's hand and squeezed it reassuring while continuing narrating the last twenty minutes into the phone.

"Ya. So could you come get us? We're at the Matten Apartment complex....Ya- Okay. See you then," Jiro slapped her phone shut and slide it back into her pocket in one swift action. She exhaled and leaned back on the bench with Shizuo.

"He coming?" Shizuo asked with one eye peeping open at her.

"Yah. He'll be here in five. Kyohei said we can crash at his apartment too. Incase anyone is looking for you," Jiro relayed what briefing he probably already heard in the gruggled phone call. Letting go of his hand, Jiro flexed her hand to regain the feelings. Shizuo had squeezed her hand so hard that white marks of his knuckles were imprinted on hers.

"...Sorry," he said self consciously.

"It's ok. You didn't break anything so it's all good," Jiro replied softly, as to not wake the city around them. Or worse.

Looking over to him Jiro pensively gave herself a moment of looking him over before asking, "Did you hurt anything?"

Shizuo paused before answering. He moved both arms and tested their mobility. Nothing was painful or immovable as he checked. It gave him the green light to think everything was left unscathed at least by this outburst.

"Fine. Guess I didn't break anything this time," Shizuo responded quietly and slouched over on the bench. Tired and like the last time he slept was three days ago, he rubbed his palms into his strained eyes and let a long sigh leave his mouth.

Jiro slowly and deliberately reached over to put an arm around his shoulders. She bent down with him and turned her face to his. Shizuo's scraggly blonde hair floated around his face and mostly hide his tired grey eyes. Jiro smiled at him with an equally exhausted grin.

"Never a boring minute with my Shizzy now is it," Jiro drew out a laugh and squeezed him with the arm she had around him in a half ass attempt to cheer the man up.

"It's a pain in the ass," Shizuo growled at her and sat up straight. Jiro's arm slipped off him and she looked side ways at him. He was really beating himself up over this and it brought into question why. This wasn't the first time she got caught up in the chaos of his rage. If she hadn't learned that from being friends in middle and high school then it didn't seem like the woman was going to learn it anytime soon.

"It's not that bad," Jiro disagreed firmly. Her friend looked exhausted and on the verge all over again of an anger filled rampage. Jiro reached over and squeezed his hand again in the only attempt she had to console and keep things quiet and simmering down, "It's fine Shizuo. Stop worrying, ok?"

"How can I?" Shizuo spat bitterly and took his hand away from hers, "I hate doing that shit! I hate loosing control. It's sickening to think of all the pain I just caused. The pain I caused you! All because I'm not strong enough to control myself of all things I can't use this anger for good!"

Jiro was exhausted and didn't want to argue with him. Instead she just leaned against his shoulder. Arguing was a sure fire way to get him riled up again all over. The tremble of Shizou's shoulder against her cheek didn't stop her from leaning her weight into him for comforting. Allowing her vision focus forward on the empty streets only occasionally sporting a car going its own way. Waiting for Kadota to come and take them away from here couldn't come soon enough.

Shizuo went mute as Jiro fell quiet. He returned to just focusing on calm even breathing. Kyohei would come soon, take them all to his quiet apartment and things would be fine. Things, would be like they use to be. Just the three of them. Nothing else.

From around the corner, not even five minutes after they'd both fallen silent, a van came rumbling to their location. With their lights clicking down lower the vehicle drove right up to the two sitting together on the bench near the road way. Rolling to a stop the newcomer cut the engine. Jiro and Shizuo perked up as the drivers door swung open.

Wordless a man hoped out of the van and shut the door behind himself. Jiro couldn't help the smile that stretched from ear to ear and it was directed at their rescue. She jumped up from the bench to greet him.

"Thanks for the rescue, Kyohei," Jiro said and intercepted him with a tight hug.

Taking his friend in his arm just to hug her back tight, "No problem," Kadota replied even with a dopey tired smile. Jiro buried her face in his old green sweater and felt all the pervious problems melt away. Kyohei was here, he'd fix things, he always did.

"Hey Shizzy," Kyohei tipped his bandana covered heads towards his old friend while he and Jiro let go of each other. 

"Hey dude," Shizuo acknowledged him back as he got up from the bench. Shizuo wandered over to his friend and gave him and quick hug.

"So you got in some shit Shizuo?" Kyohei asked even though the situation was pretty clear even if Jiro hadn't laid it out on the phone when he was half asleep. Shizuo snorted and flicked the cigarette he'd been worrying away into the bushes, "Take that as a yes." Kyohei rolled his eyes playfully and began back to the van knowing they'd follow him. He paused and looked back over his shoulder to Jiro and the obvious problem with her appearance, "What happened to your shirt Jiro?"

"Ugh," Jiro groaned and pushed past them to get in the back of the van in her rightful spot smack in the middle of the seat, "I'll tell you on the car ride over back to your place."

"Fine with me," Kyohei shrugged and moved to the driver side of the van.

"Shot gun," Shizuo claimed his regular spot and hopped in the passengers seat next to Kyohei.

Everyone buckled in like that was the most dangerous thing they'd done and Kadota started the van. He backed up onto the deserted main road and began driving to his apartment. Jiro explained the entire situation while Shizuo sat mute in the seat with a unlit cigarette mulling around in his mouth.


	2. Chapter 2

Nothing compared to the feeling of the heater cranked up to ten and surrounded by her best friends that when the clock on the dash board reading off 2:47 AM none of that even really mattered. Jiro nearly falling asleep in the leisure drive. And not like it was the get away from an actual scene of the crime. With that quick car ride and the trio reached a apartment complex several blocks from where Jiro and Shizuo had called for their ride.

Kyohei pulled to the side of street and parked his beaten van. Everyone flopped out and lumbered towards the complexes main door like mindless zombies. Jiro had already explained the entire situation to Kyohei once and the details she added during the drive really didn't change anything. Especially Kyohei's choice to help his friends. Throughout the second narration Shizuo remained utterly silent the entire time. Kyohei offhandedly suggested that the burly man may have been part of one of the large gangs in town and it might be safe to check with people before going out in public again. Jiro agreed and said she'd ask around. Shizuo made no attempted to even think about it. He just stormed into the building ready to forget any of this happened once more.

On the third level was Kyohei's small apartment. He opened it up jut to let Jiro and Shizuo head in first. Everything was crammed into one room, except the bathroom. That was located on the far side of the apartment and the door itself was was secluded enough. Everything else though was crammed into one place. Kitchen, dinning, living and bedroom. All in one room just like many of the apartments in the sprawling city.

Shizuo plopped down on the black futon and kicked off his shoes while loosening his tie. This was nearly a second home so when his stomach growled the blond looked over at his friend, "You got any food?" Shizuo called while snatching the TV remote off the coffee table.

"I have some cup-o-noodles. Something better than nothing," Kyohei replied while wadding up his green sweater to toss it on his desk chair for safe keeping. Jiro passed by him and yanked the dark grey bandana off his head in spite of the immediate glare.

"Hey!" Kyohei sneered and snatched it back.

"I hate that damn thing," Jiro complained while going to the large dresser in the room that she knew had a stash of emergency clothes just for this kind of thing.

"Don't care," Kyohei replied coldly and put the bandanna with his neatly wadded coat, "It's part of my look. So stop messing with it."

"But it hides your pretty eyebrows and luscious hair Kyohei," Shizuo chimed sarcastically from futon without really involving himself in any of it.

"Shut the hell up blondy," Kyohei growled and stalked into the tiny kitchen. Opening the cupboard Kyohei pulled out three things of the cup-o-noodles he kept stashed of unannounced visitors hankering for food. He looked over to the woman rifling through his designated guest drawer of his dresser, "You want some Jiro?"

Pulling a pair of overly loved pk pants for herself and then half ass grabbing some spare shorts Kyohei never wore, she perked up at the mention of food, "Sure," She replied while slipping into her pajama pants right there in the middle of the room. Anything was better than her work slacks that reeked of booze. The jersey knit shorts she'd also pulled out got launched into Shizuo's face regardless of his glare, "Pj's. Change. Now. If you smell anything like I do after that shift I'm not sleeping next to you."

Shizuo grumbled but stood up with the clothing clutched in his fist. He wandered into the bathroom and shut the door hard just to make a point. Jiro smiled at the troll man and went over to Kyohei busied in the kitchen. He was finishing up with the food as she approached and didn't take notice of her. Jiro watched his back as Kyohei moved from side to side getting spoons, napkins and what not just for the simple snack.

Just like that she stopped midway into the kitchen. It had always been like this. She was so easily hypnotized by him at any inopportune time. The most mundane things Kyohei did could cause Jiro to stop and stare like a gawking school girl.

Kyohei turned around suddenly and bumped right into his untrained observer. Instinctively he grabbed her hips and pulled her closer so she didn't trip backwards in a fumble. Jiro let out a small gasp and was snapped out of her starring daze by the sudden rush of being face to face. They both murmured a small yelp without realizing they were crammed into the same kitchen.

"Wow sorry Jiro, gotta watch out in this cramp space," Kyohei apologized with a apprehensive smile on his lips not even registering the hold he had on her waist. Jiro blinked a few times like the words he spoke were alien. Finally she nodded with some grasp of what he said. But then the feeling of his hands holding onto her body tightly hit her in one big wallop. His touch so gentle. So perfect. So amazing. Jiro awkward smirked spread on her face like wildfire and didn't fight it an ounce when Kyohei's hands slide around her and towards the small of her back. An incoming hug perhaps. Kyohei wore a look of enchantment on his face as his palms slowly went to connect with each other behind her. Encasing her in his arms, Jiro glanced up to his face and saw the blush skirting his cheeks. A similar smirk then crossed his lips. She must have been blushing just as hard. Kyohei was about to entirely wrap his arms around her waist when the bathroom door flung open forcefully.

"Damn it Kyohei don't you ever do laundry?" Shizuo complained loudly as he stomped over to the futon. Tossing his pants over yonder, he plopped back down on the futon and began channel surfing. Without once reading the room or giving a rats ass what tomfoolery was going on in the kitchen.

Shizuo's boisterous entrance made Jiro jerked quickly away from Kyohei and she busied herself getting the noodles for the three of them like none of that had just happened. Kyohei just stood stunned for a moment then went to help her. Following suit to push that little interaction under the radar. Chalking it up to just a cramped kitchen.

Then he remembered Shizuo had made a remark towards him even as latent as his response finally was, "Shut up Shizzy," Kyohei grumbled as he came over to the futon still going to give the man his snack.

"Hey, Kyohei," Shizuo's voice was suddenly quiet. Drawing both their attention onto the man slumped over on the edge of the futon.

Kyohei looked to his friend as Jiro silently set the three cups of noodles down on the coffee table then turn away to the kitchen, "Yah?"

Shizuo gazed around the apartment noticing none of the lights really were on save for the one by the door when they walked in and the kitchen when they were grabbing the cup of noodles. He managed his question in nothing better than a whisper, "....Did we wake you up?"

Weird that he was so quiet after all this. But then with his question Kyohei didn't reply immediately. In reality he didn't really know how to answer without sounding rude about it. Instead he grabbed the huge blanket off the back of the love seat and the only two other pillows in the room. Shizuo took the que and stood up. Both men pulled the futon out so it turned into a king sized bed. Kyohei tossed the pillows on the bed and Shizuo pushed them towards the back of the pullout for padding. And Kyohei finally laid the blanket to the side of the new bed with what was the best way he could think to answer.

"Yah, but it's fine. I wasn't sleeping well any way," Kyohei said with mostly honestly to the statement. Jiro re-entered their area just as both men fell silent again and she took a good look at the prepared bed then gave her friends a big smile.

Shizuo ignored her smile and crawled to the left of the bed where he'd already claimed on the futon before it was pulled out. Kyohei was arranging a lamp within his reach of the bed at least.

The scene seemed familiar to the woman. She starred at them for a long drawn out minute before putting her finger on why this felt even fleetingly like dejavu, "Hmph," Jiro crossed her arms and smiled even bigger at both men when it hit her, "It's like high school all over again."

"Pssh, I'm sure it was junior high Jiro," Shizuo snorted as he crossed his legs and nabbed the cup-o-noodles and a pair of mismatched chopsticks from the pile.

"Well I'm sure your right Mr. Heiwajima," Jiro retorted and slithered in between them in her designated spot.

Kyohei allowed himself a small smile as he turned to shut the lights off in the kitchen. The apartment was very dark except for the flickering tv. Kyohei was about to switch on the side table light when someone hissed in disapproval.

"Don't turn it on. We got the tv jesus," Shizuo growled why slurping down the hot noodles. Jiro elbowed him in the side and glared. Shizuo spit out a noodle and turned to the woman, "What the hell was that for?!"

"Stop slurping god that's gross," Jiro ordered. She brought her cup-o-noodles to her lips, sipped the broth and downed a few noodles, without so much of a noise to demonstrate how he should be eating.

Shizuo scoffed, "It's cause you got practice."

"Hey!" Jiro's hackles raised right off the back with that dirty jab.

"Oooo. And Mr. Heiwajima comes in with a low hit," Kyohei chuckled as he sat down on the other side of Jiro.

Here they really were. Three adults on a king sized bed. Eating cheap noodles like broke students.

"Oh ya," Jiro glared at Shizuo, "Like you have anything to even base that off of." Their jabs at each others prowess all in good faith as the moment her barely decent come was met with stifled snorts of laughter from the looser club that they felt clung to them far past school age. Jiro cracked up laughing this really was just like high school all over again. She laughed so hard that Kyohei took the cup from her, for fear of hot soup going everywhere. Jiro snorted a few times before gathering enough breath for a handful of words, "Haha, oh my goodness, haha. What a bunch of losers! God we're pathetic! Twenty four and just as bad back then!" Jiro wiped a small jolly tear away and began calming down, "Oh goodness. This is just like high school."

"Ya. And your still annoying," Shizuo downed the last third of his food in one gulp. Then he slammed the empty cup on the coffee table.

"Starving much?" Kyohei asked with a brown eyebrow cocked up since he hadn't even gotten half his cup of noodle eaten before Shizuo was done.

"Hell yes. Haven't eaten in a while," Shizuo replied while grabbing the blanket Kyohei had gotten mostly for himself.

"He's got food in his belly. Now he'll sleep," Jiro chuckled and ate more of her noodles in no rush to fill her gullet like Shizuo.

Kyohei nodded in agreement and went to work eating his own noodles. Shizuo snuggled up in the corner and stared blankly at the flashing tv. Jiro and Kyohei sucked down their noodles while also watching the flickering tv.

Bright lights flashed as very small animated people ran around. Their eyes took up over half their face. Heads the size of watermelons on tiny mini bodies. And the female characters had hair done up in gravity defying styles. Certainly nothing any real human could recreate. Not to mention there was some overly cute animals following them too. The boy had a dog with huge eyes barely resembling a dog. The girl had a cat with huge paws and huge eyes, it was cute at least. Another nerdy looking kid had a bird that was speaking, the bird and it's kid had matching glasses because why not. All ran around happily while fighting, or maybe they weren't fighting. It wasn't really clear what these weird looking kids were doing. Were they even actually kids?

"What the hell are we watching?" Shizuo finally demanded from his darkened corner since this seemed too stupid to allow the giant to slumber.

Jiro set her empty noodle cup down and scooted back to join Shizuo, "I think we're watching a cartoon." She snatched some blanket from Shizuo and wrapped up in it. Jiro snuggled up against him with intent to understand what they were seeing. She looked over to Kyohei like he'd ever know what this assine show was. More or less maybe he knew because of Walker or Erica's obsession with media. That assumption was for nothing since he knew as much as they did about what was flashing on the screen.

He was finished his noodles last before getting up and taking all the dirty Styrofoam cups into the kitchen area. Jiro pulled more blanket from Shizuo as Kyohei wandered back over with no intent to clean up right now. He looked at her and Shizuo on the bed. Jiro padded the empty space by her with a soft smiled. Ushering him to get back into bed already before the warmth seeped out.

"This isn't weird?" Kyohei asked with a crooked smile as he sat down by her and slipped under the definitely inviting blanket.

Jiro shrugged and fluffed up her and Kyohei's shared pillow a bit. Sharing with Shizuo was difficult at best when it came to sleep, "We did it with Shinra that one time at Shizuo's house."

"Yah, then Shizuo's brother thought he'd sleep in our huddle," Kyohei remembered the giant knot of children sleeping together on the living room floor of Shizuo's house.

"Now that was cramped as hell. I don't know how in the hell I even slept," Jiro flashed back on the experience. She drew the blanket under her chin and snuggled down between Kyohei and Shizuo.

"You just slept on top of everyone," Shizuo grumbled. The blanket was covering the entire lower half of his face with his eyes locked onto tv like a trance for the stupid before them.

Jiro chuckled haphazardly, "If you guys just wouldn't make such comfortable pillows."

"Good thing you ain't fat," Shizuo added without second thought. Jiro scowled at the comment but didn't look over to him. She was just too exhausted for anymore bullshit.

"You're an ass Shizuo," Kyohei grumbled in his friend's defense even as his head dipped down in tiredness.

"Yah. I know," Shizuo acknowledged softly. His eye lids started getting heavy and the warmness from Jiro's fire engine body under the covers with them. All was enough to lull the grown man to sleep.

"Mmhm," Jiro agreed blankly as her head slipped onto Kyohei's shoulder.

No warning Shizuo violently ripped the covers off as he stood up. Jiro looked at him and he replied to her irritated look, "Need a smoke." Fishing out his pack of smokes it was barely a second later he went out onto the balcony. Jiro heard the snap of the lighter then Shizuo inhaling a breath deeper than his normal anxious smoking.

Out on the sad excuse for a porch Shizuo tipped his head back and called something back to them, "It's a full moon out here. You guys should see it."

"Come on," Jiro crawled out from under the blanket and got up knowing more than anything Shizuo just wanted some company. She turned to reach out to Kyohei as the last one on the bed. He took her help and got up. Holding one another's hands two seconds longer than needed before released each other why while blushing like crazy in the dim lit room.

Both wandered out onto the balcony with Shizuo's little attempt at beckoning them. He took a deep breath and puffed out the smoke held tight within his lungs. All three looked down first at the bustling home city below them. The lights were bright and lively as night owls moved around. And deeds of all kinds were being complete under the cover of the Ikebukuro night From the street though the light from the city slowly died off as the height of the buildings grew. Their eyes followed up the adjacent apartment complex and up to the full moon hanging proudly in the sky above them.

It hung high in Ikebukuro's sky. Bright and lustrous, nothing short of a diamond. The lights from the city and the bright moon killed off all the stars. Only thing the three of them could see was the moon looking down on them as they looked up at it in silence together.

"...I don't know what I'd do with out you two," Shizuo confessed softly to them while puffing on his cigarette. He looked out to the city, the cigarette rolling between his thumb and index finger before holding the filter end to his lips pensively, "I'd probably be locked up by now. Never able to see this moon again."

Words heavier than she cared to relieve this late now. Jiro stood as always between Shizuo and Kadota. But moved to slip each of her hands into one of theirs and squeezed tightly for reassurance.

"Ta tell you the truth. I don't think I could live with out you guys either," Kyohei stated just as quietly. His brown eyes reflecting the city's lights as he gazed out at them.

Both their words. Followed by her friend's squeezing her hands one at a time. It was enough, Jiro felt tears well up in her own eyes. Not sad tears, but they weren't overly joyed either. She felt one roll down her cheek though she didn't want it to leave just yet. Brushing it away with her shoulder, Jiro held on tighter to her friends. Both Kyohei and Shizuo turned to Jiro and smiled.

"We don't know what'd we do without our one brain cell either," Shizuo finally for the first time all night smile. And both he and Kyohei took Jiro in a huge bear hug.

"I love you guys," Jiro whispered as hot tears fell to rolled off her cheeks and drip onto both men. Jiro couldn't control the silly tears and just let them flow, "I really really do."

"We love you too Jiro," Kyohei said quietly to her. Shizuo nodded his head in agreement.

They hugged for a moment longer then finally let go. Shizuo dampened his cigarette before going back in first. Kyohei looked out at the city one last time. Jiro touched his hand and looked up to him. He smiled back and gently took her hand without needing to be told to. Jiro lips curled into a smile and she looked up at the moon one last time before following Kyohei back into the apartment. Finally for some rest.

Shizuo was already snuggled down in his corner. Jiro crawled in the middle and Kyohei situated himself on her vacant side. The tv was switched off and the apartment went black as it was when Kyohei got the phone call.

Everyone fidgeted into their own comfortable position. Jiro rolled on her side, her back to Shizuo. Shizuo just draped a lazy arm over her side and snuggled up to her like she was a plush doll on this overly cramped bed.

Kyohei was the one left facing Jiro and could see the faint out line of her features in the light cast in from the sliding door. His utter surprise to find she was looking right at him. He averted his gaze embarrassed to be caught staring at her. The faintest smirk crossed her lips and she scooted closer to him. Jiro wormed her way into Kyohei's arms and rested her head beside his on their pillow. He could feel her shallow breath on his neck at this point she was so close. Kyohei couldn't help seizing up as Jiro moved his arm around her waist and snuggled into him as close as she could.

"Loosen up," the movements of her lips louder than the words Jiro was whispering to him. Kyohei couldn't help but strained to see what Shizuo was doing. He was sprawled out, half on his side half on his back and facing them but was already fast a sleep. Oblivious to either of them on the same bed as he was. Jiro's eyes closed without worry and she pressed into him. Kyohei relaxed finally and rested his chin above her head. Arms tightly wrapped around one another. After that they quickly followed Shizuo's lead and the bunch of them were asleep. Finally, at three A.M. in the morning. But at least they were together again. Just like old times.


	3. Chapter 3

_Buzz buzz buzz._

"....what...?"

_Buzz buzz buzz._

"The phone?"

_Buzz buzz buzz._

"Wait- who's phone is that?"

_Buzz._

"It's not mine though...?"

Jiro resentfully cracked open a single eye. Bright early afternoon sun light bombarded her senses through the miniscule crack in the curtains from the window near the sliding door. Late but without enough sleep to deal with this she squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face in between the pillow and her friend.

_Buzz buzz buzz._

"God damn it," Jiro yanked her arm out of the blanket and looked around with her eyes hardly more open than squint as she searched for the culprit. Kyohei's phone was the only one on the table beside them. And it was shivering as it received a missed call to highlight the unopened text on his screen. Thoughtlessly Jiro reached over Kyohei, incidentally suffocating the sleeping man in a wonderful paradise of breast had he actually been awake. She pulled the phone into her grasp after two failed attempts.

_Buzz buzz._

Flopping onto her back with the unwelcome alarm finally in her clutches meant Jiro needed to rub the sleep from her now open eyes just to check the phone.

All of that for only one new text message.

"Who is texting Kyoshei already? Walker and Erica are never awake by now..." Jiro grumbled and tapped a few buttons before opening the new message on her friends device.

_'Took you long enough beautiful'_

"Ugh," Jiro realized who it was right off the back. And the sly dog on the other end got a message sent back within seconds of her eyes alighting on the message.

_'Asshole, you woke me up'_

That should do it. She pressed send then Jiro laid back while holding Kyohei's phone to her chest. Like that really was going to be the end of that. Allowing her mind to fall back into it's dreaming state that was still clinging to her by the thinnest threads. Just before the sweet slumber feeling took her again, the phone vibrated on her chest. Groaning softly Jiro opened the new message.

_'Just wondering how my Jiro is makes me an asshole? Mr. Heiwajima certainly caused a ruckus for you all last night. Which means your all at Kadota's apartment I presume._ ' -Izaya.

_'Ya. So if you knew why'd you text me? I'd be sleepin but your text woke me up. Why did you text Kadota's phone?'_ -Jiro.

_'Knew ya'd pick up his phone if I texted it. Right again.'_ -Izaya.

_'When aren't you right?'_ -Jiro.

_'I would say when Mr. Heiwajima is hurling a vending machine towards my handsome face. But even then I'm in the right'_ -Izaya.

_'Laps in judgement. And it's a quiet a beautiful face you got there. Should keep it safe'_ -Jiro.

_'My judgment is impeccable sweetheart. And I'm glad you adore it ;)'_ -Izaya.

_'Didn't say I did :P'_ -Jiro.

_'It goes without saying the beast is asleep after all that.'_ -Izaya.

_'Yea, like I should still be Izaya.'_ -Jiro.

_'My sincerest apologies my lady.'_ -Izaya.

_'Whatever Izaya_ ' -Jiro.

_'You know I care deeply for all my humans xP'_ -Izaya.

_'Ya. I can defiantly tell with your xP'_ -Jiro.

_'I do beautiful ;P'_ -Izaya.

_'What is it you wanted Izaya?'_ -Jiro.

_'Oh nothin. Just wonderin, I'm bored. Haven't had to run from anyone this morning. Still need my exercise lol.'_ -Izaya.

_'Shut up I try not to let him chase you even though maybe he should.'_ -Jiro.

_'I'd still count running from flying machinery counts._ ' -Izaya.

_'No. Someone chasing after you and whooping your ass, that's what's happens when someone runs after you.'_ -Jiro.

_'Mr. Heiwajima hasn't laid a single finger on me, yet.'_ -Izaya.

_'Perv.'_ -Jiro.

_'Says the chick sleeping with two guys at once ;)'_ -Izaya.

_'It's just the same bed, it NOT sex.'_ -Jiro.

_'Still a virgin?_ ' -Izaya.

_'That's off topic. I asked what you wanted.'_ -Jiro.

_'Well, are you? ;)'_ -Izaya.

_'God damn it Izaya. Go do something other than pissing people off. Now I know why Shizuo hates you so damn much >.<'_ -Jiro.

_'That dreadful Shizuo just has all the issues.'_ -Izaya.

_'Not as much as you >.>'_ -Jiro.

_'Hehe. You know me so well sweet heart ;)'_ -Izaya.

_'Stop. It's creepy.'_ -Jiro.

_'I know ;) but I'm creepy.'_ -Izaya.

_'-_- yah I know._ ' -Jiro.

_'But you love me still ;)'_ -Izaya

_'This is sadly true -_-'_ -Jiro

_'Hehe love you Jiro <3'_ -Izaya

_'Uh huh <3'_ -Jiro

_'Guess I'll go back to my work now.'_ -Izaya.

_'Finally. What were you even doing?'_ -Jiro.

_'Oh nothin much. Just diggin up dirt on the dude a certain someone killed ;D'_ -Izaya.

_'Shit...Really?'_ -Jiro.

_'Yerp. Dead when the medics showed up. You picked a nice gang to screw to ;)'_ -Izaya.

_'Let me guess. The Yellow Scarfs?_ ' -Jiro.

_'B-I-N-G-O. And bingo was his nameO_.' -Izaya.

_'Wanna do me a favor Izaya?_ ' -Jiro.

_'Sure. My house, tonight, I'll even cook dinner sweet heart._ ' -Izaya

_'....'_ -Jiro

_':( oh I was so hopeful.'_ -Izaya.

_'Oh my god. Will you just do me a favor?_ ' -Jiro

_'What's in it for me then? ;)_ ' -Izaya.

_'....I'll come in personally today to see you?_ ' -Jiro.

_'I'm listening._ ' -Izaya.

_'Would you just get a feel of the tension with the gangs? So I can decide when to let me and Shizuo come out of hiding.'_ -Jiro.

_'Suuuure. Anything for my girl. But you know if you'd just join a side you'd know for yourself._ ' -Izaya.

_'Just find it out for me Izaya.'_ -Jiro.

_'It's not good to hide things Jiro._ ' -Izaya.

_'I'm not hiding anything_.' -Jiro.

_'Sure your not ;)'_ -Izaya.

_'Piss off.'_ -Jiro.

_'Your sexy when you lie.'_ -Izaya.

_'Are you going to do this or not?'_ -Jiro.

_'Of course I will. I'll do any thing for you ;)_ ' -Izaya.

_'I'm not yours Izaya. Thank you though. Don't stir to much shit up please. I'd liked to leave Kyohei's apartment within the next decade._ ' -Jiro.

_'Of course your mine. And besides I'm an informant. How much trouble can I cause._ ' -Izaya.

_'I hope to hell that's a rhetorical question._ ' -Jiro.

_' <3'_ -Izaya.

_'I'm go back to sleep for awhile. I won't tell Shizuo you texted me while he was in the room_.' -Jiro.

_';( oh you take the fun out it sweet heart_.' -Izaya.

_'Yep. I'm the fun police. No one's aloud to have fun with me around lol._ ' -Jiro.

_'*cough cough*...Except Dotachin_.' -Izaya.

_'I'm ignoring that >.>_' -Jiro.

_'Haha sure you will._ ' -Izaya.

_'Enough Izaya. I'll talk to you later :P_ ' -Jiro.

_' <3! I'll be seeing you later ;)_' -Izaya.

_'Ha <3_' -Jiro.

Deleting all the messages exchanging in the shortest period. Jiro finally rolled over Kyohei again and set his phone on the side table. This time on silent. Kyohei mumbled something and brushed against Jiro amidst her escapade to put the phone down. She seized up when she thought he was going to wake. The full blown embarrassment she'd feel when having to explain why her chest was in his face was the least of things. Luckily he didn't stir more than that and all Kyohei did was roll so he faced towards her and Shizuo again.

Releasing her breath Jiro calmed down and got entirely back under the blanket. Shizuo was facing away from them both. So Jiro decided to snuggle against him to regain her warmth from being outside the cacoon texting Izaya. She fidgeted on her side and draped her arm over Shizuo lazily. His response was to push that arm away but then quickly stop as his body went back to being sound asleep. Jiro smiled to herself at his reaction as she nestled into the futon.

Then she felt without thought Kyohei worm his arm around her and pulled her close to him. Completely and utterly out there was no way he even knew what he was doing except trying to get closer to the warm thing on his bed. Jiro melted away in Kyohei's arms immediately. His chest was pressed firmly against her back as his arm tucked over her stomach and into her side to keep her pressed firmly against him. This. This was perfection.

With that Jiro quickly felt as dopey and tired as she did before the rude text woke her up. Kyohei lulled Jiro to sleep with his embrace. But she still had an arm over on Shizuo. Mere seconds before it had them all fast asleep again. Looking like a linked train as they snuggled and slept together after such a minor disruption.  
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________---------------------  
"Three coffees my good man!" The skinny man with dark hair asked of the cashier in a chipper and bright tone even though by this time it was far past morning coffee.

"Will that be it?" Eyeing him the cashier still tried to keep their costumer service voice even with as weird as they were being. The man in front of him swished his brown coat back and forth like a child as he nodded overly enthusiastically. A child would be told to stop but he was more or less a kid without a mother to tell him to stop.

"Most certainly good sir that is it!" a grin accompanied the transaction of cash from man to man, "To go of course. I need to get these to their special someones before they wake up."

It was almost twelve thirty when the cashier glanced at the clock at his odd remark, "Uh. Yah, alright I'll have them right out." Uneasily the coffee cashier took the money and then handed the receipt to the odd ball smiling at him, "Your drinks will be out in a moment Mr..." Through that entire exchange he forgot to get the strange man's name, oops.

"Izaya Orihara, my good friend," The cashiers face twisted a bit at that name. There was some speculation about what someone with that same name did. But never any concrete evidence so the barista nodded quickly just to busy himself with the drink order.

Izaya smirked while he turned and plopped down in a near by seat. It's over stuffed padding engulfing him almost. Watching as the cashier scuttled away to the back of the coffee shop certainly more worried to have the informant loitering in his place of work surely. Trouble did seem to follow him. But how was Izaya supposed to know that?

Pulling out his cell phone and sifted through the conversations still on his more coveted device Izaya still found most of the jibberish on the phone screen boring at this point. Deleting over half of them, Izaya stumbled back upon the one he'd just had with Jiro earlier in this already late morning. With a smile on his face, he reread the conversation word for word. Even laughing at some of the things texted like it was genuine good satire.

Such a silly girl she was, Izaya did just loved her to death.

When he finished them all, he proceeded to deleted them just as unphased as the others. Izaya slide his phone back into his fur lined coat pocket while tapping his lower lip thoughtfully with his index finger. The silver ring on it glimmering in the low coffee houses lights.

_'Wonder where I should start?'_ Izaya thought silently to himself about Jiro's request, _'What info she could possibly want on the guy? Maybe his stature with the Yellow Scarfs? Or perhaps the personal life of the man,_ ' his lips wiggled in concentration under his nose as Izaya earnestly contemplated Jiro's request, with all the possible interpretations his twisted little mind could think of, _'She wanted to know when her and that bastard Shizuo could come back out into public. Smart woman. I could guess now, if they really wanted to. But that is far simpler than my darling thinks. What is it she's really hiding from, certainly not a gang when Shizuo has the reputation he has? There's gotta be something else. Normally she doesn't hide Mr. Heiwajima at all after these kinda things. Something else has to be going on. It must have to do with...' ___

__"Sir, your drinks are ready," Suddenly a completely different barista, a perky brunet woman, announced from behind the counter where he'd first placed his order. The fellow before must have been too afraid too break the council being held in the information brokers blackened mind._ _

__"Huh?" Izaya pulled away from his thoughts and cast his grey eyes on her._ _

__"Your order, Mr. Orihara," She looked to the three cups with a uneasy expression riddling the youth of her face. Chances she drew the short straw when the first cashier went in the back._ _

__"Oh thank you ma'am," Izaya chipperly hoped up and snatched the tray from her hands in one foul swoop. He tipped her off with a salute as he strolled out the coffee shop door, "Thanks a ton lady!" The bells rang out merrily behind him._ _

__Still forced to do it the woman bowed to him as he departed while waving back at her. Everyone inside the coffee shop finally let out one held in breath._ _

__"Wonder what the womans up to," Izaya began mulling Jiro all over again. He took a sip of each coffee cup without care. Their hot contents burning his tongue. Izaya spit all three tastes out and gagged disappointedly, "I hate coffee so much!" Izaya shook his head in disgust, "But they like it. So guess I'll put up with it." He rolled his eyes to while continuing to chattering chipperly to himself on his stroll down the Ikebukuro side walk. People passing by, stepped aside because they either recognize him or also because a crazy man was jabbering on to himself was a distinct reason to steer clear of more crazy on the streets._ _

__"Oh my little darling love," Izaya sung to himself graciously, "What a bunch of wonderful things you are made of." He slowly crept closer to whereabouts of Kyohei's apartment. And of course the trio certainly still slumbering like restful children, "And the wonderful things you lie about!"_ _

__Izaya left the drinks in the door way and rang the door bell. Merrily he skipped away so neither Shizuo or Kadota would open the door and find him._ _

__"I will figure it out my love. This city is going to be my Valhalla and nothing goes unnoticed in my heave. Your secret will be mine."_ _


	4. Chapter 4

Need woke the slumbering beast up.

That of an over powering craving setting ablaze every cell in his body until Shizou had no choice but to stir. Awoken from the dead slumber he'd been in since the noodles from the night before settled in his gullet. Even overriding the urge to just go back to sleep once his throbbing head reminded him of the shit show that happened last night. The craving made him get up and fuel the addiction whether he liked it or not.

Shizuo rolled off the black futon just to stumble towards the mediocre sized dinning table and all it's clutter from Kyohei and his two surprised guests. His jacket hung from on of the chair's shoulders at least easily accessible. Fishing into his pockets, Shizuo drew out the pack of cigarettes and the hefty silver lighter always located in his front pocket.

No more than a mindless zombie, the tall blond man shuffled out of the apartment and onto the balcony to seclude himself. He stuffed a cigarette in between his lips and cupped the end while holding the flame up against it's tip. Puffing twice he inhaled the poison before billowing it out his nose. Letting the nicotine flood his senses and blood stream like it would be his first and last all over again.

Called down from the initiate need of it all, Shizuo set the pack and lighter on the railing under his palm. He leaned forward and took another drag on his smoldering cigarette with his free hand. Then he took it out of his mouth for a moment and held it between his fingers.

Glancing below he watched everyone mill about already well into their day. Those people looked like they were from another world. Being perched as such above it all. Shizuo felt a bit disconnected seeing the day time from this angle. He wasn't below, wandering about with them like the drudges they all were. Not walking on the same street or looking around at the same shops.

No.

He was on top. Watching them. And they had no idea. Shizuo wasn't part of the crowd. He wasn't part of their world. It felt almost incriminating to hold himself up like this, like doing so brought him closer to being like-

_Ding, dong._ Suddenly the echo of the individual apartments door bell chime reached Shizuo's ears. Startling him in fact after being so wrapped up in watching what was going on below.

"What the-?" he slowly craned around in the general direction back in the apartment. Shizuo looked closely only to see Jiro and Kyohei still curled up together on the futon. They were past out and certainly weren't the ones to go answer the door. Yet alone be the one ringing the door bell.

_Ding, dong_. It called to him again. Shizuo scowled at the noise and smashed the smoldering end of the cigarette into the unused ash tray. Grabbing his belongings Shizuo stomped into the apartment and stashed his smokes away for a later time since right now had been interrupted.

Stomping pass the futon on the way to strangle anyone really on the other side of that door for the interruption. Shizuo stopped at the far edge of the make shift bed and followed the outline the remaining two up to his friends and up to their serene sleeping faces. Jiro's small body was pressed like a puzzle piece up against his best friend's chest. Kyohei's arms extended over her and wrapped around her waist and chest with such a snug fit that there wasn't a single way she was going anywhere. Jiro just as bad with her hands clasped tightly onto his forearm and closest hand as their fingers wound tightly around each others.

For as long as Shizuo could even consciously remember, Jiro and Kyohei had the worst crush on one another. Being himself Shizou never really thought twice about it. Really just feeling that he was the neutral third party member. Not really caring if they got mushy when he was around because the alternative was always worse than two lovebirds he thought.

But for some reason Jiro and Kyohei never went out. Never even attempted to be mushy in front of him. And they rarely even hung out together unless he was involved.

Why?

Shizuo didn't give a damn if they liked each other. He was good at ignoring them. So why hadn't his best friends gotten together then? They liked each other a lot. And deep down he enjoyed seeing them happy together.

Offhandedly Shizou remembered something. Kyohei had once told Shizuo that he and Jiro looked cute together. Did he really think he and Jiro had a thing? He must have to say it to him.

Shit.

Shizuo had never corrected him because the statement had just seemed so ludicrous at the time he thought his friend was kidding. No wonder Kyohei thought Jiro was in love with him. They'd lived together ever since senior year in secondary school. As adults even now they both worked at the same bar, well use to work at the same bar. Kyohei probably assumed they did because of liked each other.

None of it was true of course. Yeah they liked each other. The old squad of five was close knit from day one. But really Jiro lived with Shizuo because she had the uncanny ability to sooth the beast inside of him when he lost control. That in itself was indispensable to the quintet on so many occasions. Even as children, she could snapped Shizuo out of his bloody rages if it was done at the right time. Just shouting his name stopped him dead in his tracks at times. It was like Jiro had him under voice control like a foolish mutt of sorts. That's why she was with him so much of the time. It was so she could protect him and everyone else around him. Love little to do with it. Perhaps the love of friendship and protection but nothing like what they shared.

' _He doesn't know that though_ ,' Shizuo thought to himself as he watched their bodies rise and fall in unison with their steady breaths, _'Shit man. You don't know she only baby sits this dumb ass. We don't have the damn feelings for each other that you two have_.'

_Ding dong!_ The inpatient door bell rang through the apartment this time again with an almost feverish pitch.

"Shut the fuck up already! You god damn door!" Shizuo scolded loudly this time without thought. He abandoned the pity and went straight back into blind rage waking up even the neighbors with his shouting. Grabbing the door knob, Shizuo swung the door open violently. Hoping to surprise the annoying caller with one good wallop, "Who ever the fuck you are, you woke up the wrong god damn dude! You piece of shi-" Stunned for all the good it did. Shizuo shouted at three paper containers of coffee sitting quietly on floor. Their silent response startled Shizuo and gave him a small start, "What the hell...?" he muttered and bent down to pick them up. Three full containers. All of fresh hot coffee.

"What? Who went and got coffee?" Shizuo thought out loud as he stepped out and looked up and down the hall of the complex level. Not a soul was out. Shizuo's eyes narrowed and he stepped back into the apartment with the three drinks he'd apprehensively picked up.

Setting the cups full paper cups down. Shizuo popped the lids off and inspected the contents of each carefully. Smelled like coffee. Looked like coffee. Final test it at least tasted like fresh coffee. Shizuo couldn't tell if something was wrong with them. And after further deliberation. The only choice he had was to drink the free coffee.

"Might as well not waste it," Shizuo shrugged and took a swig of one of them, leaving the two unclaimed drinks on the table. He lumbered back to the futon and sat down again, this time with coffee at least. Reclining back Shizuo found the remote and turned the tv on. Making sure the volume was low enough not wake anyone. Shizuo began flipping threw channels while sipping his coffee. But after his little rampage it was for nothing.

Even if the tv was on mute, it would have woken Kyohei. He cracked open one eye to see exactly what was going on to cause such a stir. Shizuo was plainly visible, sitting in his boxers on the bed while drinking something. Where was Jiro though? Kyohei's body woke slowly and he went to prop himself up to get better orientated. When a groan of protest stopped Kyohei in cold blood and scared him half to dead.

"Mmm, stop moooving," Jiro stretched her body like a cat then retracted all the same. She curled up under the blanket and snuggled up against his chest with eyes shut tight.

Shizuo glanced over and tipped his stuck friend off with the coffee cup, "Mornin."

"Uh ya, Mornin..." Kyohei managed through a yawn and repositioned the protesting Jiro.

"Stop....stop...stop moving...I mean it...stoooop," Jiro groaned groggily while covering her face repeatedly with the shared comforter.

"If you'd just scoot over," Kyohei tried to push her body towards Shizuo.

"Stop pushin me," Jiro growled and latched onto his arm without thought.

"Get offa me," Kyohei jiggled his entrapped arm. Jiro growled again and tightened her death grip like clinging to him meant clinging to the last drops of sleep she was trying to wring out.

"Stop movin," Jiro thoroughly refusing to even considering waking up.

"Uh fine," Kyohei gave up this fight and collapsed back down. Jiro happily snuggled back down into the indent she'd slept in most of the night. Amidst the struggle Kyohei looked up to Shizuo and saw the cup he certainly knew wasn't from his apartment. That warranted knowing what that was all about after the grumbling wake up coffee, "Where'd the coffee come from?"

Met with a shrug, Shizuo just drank more of his coffee since he hadn't dropped dead yet after a third of it down him, "Don't know. But it taste fine."

"Coffee," Jiro's head peeked out of the covers suddenly at the mention of the one thing sweeter than sleep, "I want coffee."

"On the table," Shizuo motioned to the kitchen. Jiro crawled out of the covers and across Kyohei's lap without question.

With a sly glance Shizuo playfully elbowed Kyohei in the ribs when he saw his friend looking at her wander in her pjs into the kitchen, "Was there any fun going on after I fell asleep? Hehe."

"No!! You just shut it!" Kyohei hissed to him while looking carefully at the obvious Jiro doing her own inspection of the mysterious coffee.

It didn't stop Shizuo from snickering at his friends expense. Kyohei's frowned angrily at him but Shizuo quieted down as Jiro came back over with the two coffees in hand.

Kyohei sat himself up and took the cups from her as Jiro jostled her way back into bed. He gave hers back as soon as she quiet moving and wasn't a danger of spilling hot coffee on him.

Like sitting ducks in a row. Shizuo sipped some coffee. Jiro would follow suit with her own tiny sip. And Kyohei gulped down the most of all running on an interrupted sleep schedule. No one of the party taking their eyes off the screen for a good twenty minutes. Rousing awake until finally one of them was awake enough to speak.

"So, anyone got plans for the day?" Jiro asked mildly curious. Her coffee cup coming back up to her lips just to savor her favorite order. Black as coal coffee with just one sweetener packet in it. Without the foggiest idea who got the coffee the woman still had to admit this was a comfort after the night that had played out.

"Ya I gotta meet the gang down town around two ish I guess," Kyohei responded first since he'd always had something going on anymore, "Erika and Walker want me to help set up some stuff at one of the book stores."

"Nerd stuff," Shizuo interjected. Just as Kyohei was gonna defend his weirdly acquired companions, Shizuo's phone went off to interrupt him. He swept it up in a swooping motioned and answered it outside on the balcony. It made both of them wonder who it was but figured Shizuo would tell them when he came back. Secrets weren't really their thing.

Kyohei shrugged and looked to an oddly quiet Jiro, "And you?"

"Me?" Jiro cocked an eyebrow.

"Yah you," he sipped some coffee, "What are you going to do?"

"Nothing," she refused to meet his gaze.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Your not gonna go see your info broker boyfriend?"

Jiro hissed sharply at the accusing statement, "Izaya is NOT my boyfriend!"

"Ha, I win," Kyohei chuckled triumphantly.

"Grr, I'm just gonna go hang with him real quick today," Jiro rationalized.

"That's fine," Kyohei shrugged casually, "Izaya's a freaking nut case. He was one in high school too."

"True. But he's a friend or...whatever," Jiro looked with a dull expression into her coffee cup. Kyohei gave her a worried expression. Then she shook her head and laughed, "Not as good as a friend as you are Dotchachin!"

He winced at that cringe worthy named Izaya had given to him ages again, "God don't you say that too, Erika is enough." She wasn't going to repeat it so Kyohei rolled his eyes at the rest of what she said, "Besides you can cool it. I know what you mean, the dudes interesting. And chicks dig that crazy edgy guy thing, that's what Erika told me."

"Like Erika or Walker would even have a grasp on what people actually like...besides," Jiro began to fidget a bit in her skin, "I do like Izaya. But I'm attracted to more level headed, strong typed I guess would be it."

"Shizuo?"

"No, kind calm men," Jiro laughed brashly like that didn't seem to be the most obvious reason Shizuo didn't fit that discovery. Sure he could chuck a street sign across town but could he keep his lid on for one disagreement even.

Confused that wasn't who she meant. Kyohei was about to clear up his confusion until the balcony sliding door creaked open. He looked past his friend to the other one coming back in with a plaintive expression on his face, "What was that about man?"

Jiro felt stupid at her fail to confide in him. There was never a good time for things like this. Ever. She just dropped it like nothing had happened and ignored it to shift back onto Shizuo for the time being.

"A callback," Shizuo was changing his cloths back into the bartender outfit not even touching the rest of his coffee, "He said he wants to hire me as a body guard."

"Is he paying?" Kyohei liking the sound of that job as himself got off the bed finally.

"Wait-" Jiro the last one on the futon. She looked up at Shizuo confused, "Body guard? When did this happen you didn't-"

"Yep, pays well too." Bypassing the fretting from the woman Shizuo buttoned up his shirt as he continued, "He asked if we could meet over lunch in a half an hour," Shizuo swigged down the last drags of his coffee then hunted down the rest of his clothing. Even while Jiro huffed between the two of them as it was obvious she was being ignored, Shizuo looked around at the mess they'd made, "Sorry for the hit and run man. But promise I'll be back later to help with some stuff."

"That's fine. I'll pick some stuff up after the bookstore thing," Kyohei also dressing himself. Jiro finally got the hint this wasn't going to answer her question. So instead she flung herself off the futon with a huff. Finding her things while she muttered something under her breath. Neither of the men even paid her any attention as they readied for their day as well.

Shizuo got his smokes and pocketed his belongings. Kyohei grabbed his keys and Jiro snatched her phone. Everyone at least had their things to speak of.

"Wanna do dinner tonight?" Shizuo offered in repayment as he wandered towards the door.

"Sure I didn't have anything planned," Kyohei scanned for anything else he'd need for the small job his cohorts had talked him into.

"Jiro?" Shizuo paused before leaving to check his friend.

"Whichever, gotta go guys," She suddenly rushed past them both. She turned around and saluted them off, "Don't know when I'll be home but sure I guess dinner could be cool. Catch you guys later!" Like a streak Jiro was down the stairs and jogging out the door by the time Kyohie and Shizuo made it to the stairs. That was awfully odd of her to rush out so quickly without telling them where she was going. Shizuo wondered if it had to do with the fact he was keeping this body guard thing under wraps. Kyohei on the other hand had a pretty clear idea of what was going on.

"Who's she seeing?" Shizuo inhaled on cigarette he'd put in his mouth before they ever made it to the ground floor.

"Some dude I guess," Kyohei lied through his teeth as he hopped in the van. Quick to change the subject he looked to the empty passenger seat next to him, "Need a ride?"

"Nah, it's only a few blocks away," Shizuo flicked the unused cigarette to the ground and stomped it out. He straightened up and looked about, as if he could see where she'd run off to, he couldn't of course. Then Shizuo commented, "If she's going to see that bastard Izaya, I'm gonna break his fucking neck."

"Haha," Kyohei falsified his laugh, "Doubt that she it."

"Better not," Shizuo shoved his hands in his pockets and shambled off in the opposite direction, "Fuckin hate that rat," He mumbled. Raising a hand, Shizuo wave back to his friend, "Cya later dude."

Taking a deep breath Kyohei tried to just clear his head. Offering an awkward wave as he ambled past his walking friend in the van onto his own busy day apart from his friends, "Ya, cya Shizuo."


	5. Chapter 5

_One two buckle his shoe._

_**He gets dressed for her day.** _

_Three, four, knock at the door._

_**She's the one knocking.** _

_Five, six, pick up sticks._

_**Snatching up the pieces he's left for her.** _

_Seven, eight, lay them straight._

_**Fixing what they've both done.** _

_Nine, ten, a big fat hen._

_**Now that's just mean.** _

_Eleven, twelve, dig and delve._

_**She hates his job.** _

_Thirteen, fourteen, maids a courting._

_**He wants her.** _

_Fifteen, sixteen, maids in the kitchen._

_**He calls it old fashion love.** _

_Seventeen, eighteen, maids in waiting._

_**She doesn't want to keep him waiting.** _

_Nineteen, twenty, my plate's empty._

_**Damn, now the games boring.** _

The sharp wrap of knuckles against his office door didn't even cause the man's eyes to leave his computer screen, "The doors unlocked!" A sweet tune carried from Izaya Orihara to the door which Jiro Hitomi stood behind.

A simple click and shut behind her.

Coming in to set her bag down on the small coffee table, Jiro approached the informants natural habitat. He sat lavishly behind his giant computer, eyes glued to the screen and hands working away at the virtual world at his fingertips. The incessant clicking sporadically filled the office from Izaya's keyboard as he filtered through multiple accounts of different subjects circulating through the city itself. Each a message board he poked his nose into almost anonymously. Some even emails and eavesdropping on things all around him at any given time. This trademark skill really put him at the top of his game here in Ikebukuro. The information he was glancing over was the red crimson blood of the city. Life pouring into a mad mans mind to distribute as he and only he saw fit.

Ignored really from the moment she crossed the threshold wasn't anything new. With a subtle huff Jiro sat down on the couch and grabbed a designer magazine laid out invitingly in front of her. Slowly and intentionally she loudly turned the colorful pages. Maybe for a client the atmosphere was welcoming. All it made her want to do was scream.

Izaya merrily continued his work without interruption. Not paying Jiro any heed. Even when she finished one entire magazine and looked over to him repeatedly.

"You could at least talk to me when I actually came over here for something," She mumbled and slowly rose up to her feet.

"Why ruin a perfect moment just to talk work?" Izaya's toying voice asked. He pressed enter and swiveled around to see Jiro coming up to him behind the desk.

"Pssh," Jiro snorted at her friends ludicrous statement. She came up behind him and glanced at the computer, "Work, _ok_ , did you even do what I asked you to?"

"Hope about instead would you like to see what I have achieved since last time you stopped by?" Izaya asked, pride lining his tone for no other reason than he was himself.

There was little chance he'd just answer her question from earlier that easy without some form of game, "Sure, alright." Jiro caved like an exhausted mother being pestered.

Unlike that though, children don't force their mother to sit squarely in their laps. And wrap a sly arm around their lower waist. Well, kids shouldn't do that even if someone thought about it. Locked into place now the woman was stuck on the man's lap without anywhere to go unless she opted to sock him in the face.

"Mmm," Izaya took the deepest breath right near her ear. Inhaling the sweet unidentifiable smell of her hair, "You smell wonderful. New product?"

"....new conditioner," Jiro fought the blush just to begin to fidget uncertain to linger on his lap, "C'mon....Do you really gotta make me sit on your lap. Izaya what if someone sees?"

"Like? No one ever comes in my office. I'm pretty secluded back here. So just sit back and enjoy the show," He'd reached up with a free hand to brush her hair behind her ear. Just for Izaya to move his lips right by her ear to speak. Jiro's shiver shoot right down her spine to his lap. A perverted little smirk crossing his expression at the putty in his hands.

"Stop smiling. It's really wrong," From behind her Izaya's face was visible via computer screen. Jiro saw him give an even bigger grin at her and clasped tighter to her waist as his chin rested on her shoulder.

"I can't help it. Your sexy," Izaya purred and nuzzled her neck annoyingly.

"Hey- Hey knock it off- Would you just- Stop that tickles!" Jiro reached back and tried to stop her friend. His light hearted chuckles sent ripples down her spine and Jiro's body inadvertently responded with a laugh.

"Your so cute....of course when you're withering away in my lap," Izaya's words coiled around Jiro like a snake and she realized how wrong this was. Abruptly she leapt off his lap and glared down at the adult man.

"Ok! Knock it off! I am so not letting you do this because you didn't do what you said you would," Jiro crossed her arms to let him know she was serious. Regardless of the jab at his inability to do one simple task that she hoped would put him back in his place.

"Fine fine fine," Izaya put his hands up like he was the innocent one in this situation but conceding just for her sake. Gracefully he rose from the office chair, stepped safely to the right, and offered her the sole seat without him in it.

Skeptical but as stupidly trusting as she always had been, Jiro planted herself in his offered chair. He gently pushed her closer to the computer and leaned over to grab his mouse/remote for his quick little show.

"Nice background," Jiro commented on the out of date picture of herself, himself, Kyohei, and far in the background, Shizuo, at the beach. They had been seniors in high school when the picture was taken. One of the last times all of them had been together actually.

"One of the few I have of us all together," Izaya reminisced with nothing but seemingly good love of the old days.

"Shinra took the picture right?" Jiro leaned in to search each young face of her present friends.

"Sure did," his body leaned over her and didn't need to ask as scrawny arms snaked around her collar bone, "Shinra wanted to go to the beach for his birthday. So we all packed it up and went before graduation."

"And Shizuo didn't want to come so we shoved him in the back of the van and drove off," Jiro snickered, ignoring the lazy hug he was giving her with his chin rested next to her own head, "He was so pissed off at us. That entire time to."

"Excuse me. He didn't try to use you as shark food," Izaya remembered his blond arch enemy trying to through the then younger Izaya into the ocean waves. Hoping a starving shark would swallow him whole without question.

"Hehe, you gotta admit that was kinda funny," she felt herself laughing blatantly at the whole of it, "Kyohei and I just about peed ourselves when Shinra went back to the beach stands. And when he came back screamed 'Izaya stop teasing Shizuo!' HA- classic!"

"Hrmph," Izaya snorted at her detachment from his hug but didn't stop her, "That Shizuo. Dumber than a sack of bricks if you ask me. Why you waste your time."

"Why can't you guys just get over it?" Jiro swiveled to face Izaya.

"Because," her eccentric friend planted both hands on either side of the chair arms and purposely brought his face uncomfortably close to hers. Jiro didn't give into her friends tease. This was Izaya she was dealing with. Things could be worse. And normally got worse.

"Some people are made to hate each other. Shizuo and I being a prime example, then some people." A pause and an inch closer with the slimmest smirk playing on his lips, "Some people are made to screw around with each other in an office."

"And some people are sleazy informants that try to seduce one of their friends into dirty office sex," Jiro smugly shot an attack back. This happened every time she visited, it was a wonder Kyohei and Shizou both didn't warrant her against it.

"If it were a certain someone in this position I know the tune of that would change. Am I wrong?" Izaya reached out to find a piece of her hair between his boney fingers. Just to twirl the strand of hair and smile Jiro tried to hold her own like she always did. From her there was only a shallow frown when Izaya met her gaze finally. "I'm not sleazy then. Your available." He let go of her hair to cup her cheek and tilt the woman's face up towards his own, "Maybe not to the general public. But the elite could have you." Izaya's lips were playing their twisted word game so closely to Jiro's own. It was maddening.

Oh, she could outright imagine what Izaya's lips tasted like. At that very moment, she even perhaps wanted to taste Izaya. So, so, SO close. Jiro could lean in and know finally what she's always wanted to know. Simply, lean forward. And her curiosity would be finally met.

"But-" He released his enchantment on her just as his touch vanished from her cheek, "I respect you to much to tease you until you're putty in my hands," Izaya bounced backwards and was now out of reach of his friend.

"Cheater," Jiro uttered a primal growl as she folded up her arms. Feeling a bit exposed to him now. This always happened but she didn't seem to know better.

"Not at all," Izaya chimed as he danced about the room. Over to the coffee table with her phone. He scooped it up and glanced over her well of pocketed information. "I simply have the desire to win you over fair and square."

"What's fair and square in your life?" Jiro directed her chair to watch him play with the phone he'd produced from her pocket with the slightest of hand tricks.

"I want you crawling, on your hands and knees, begging," Izaya's imagined vividly of what the entire scene should be and had done so for so long ever since the first time she so dutifully fought his mind games, "I want you to NEED me. So that I don't go on a wild goose chase. My goose will come to me."

"Well," Jiro hopped up and briskly walked over only to snatch her phone away, "To bad for you but I do truly love someone else."

"Then why did you want to kiss me?" Izaya's smooth tone asked her. When Jiro reached for the phone. Izaya clasped her hands inside his own and grinned to his friend.

"Damn it Izaya," Jiro scowled as she tried to jerk the electronic from his vice grip.

"I've come to realize that statement means, _I love you Izaya_ , or something very similar," A defiant smirk challenging Jiro to tell him he's wrong. Because Izaya knew he wasn't.

Of the possible out comes from Izaya's infuriating statement, he only really planned for the larger possibility of Jiro snapping away and leaving without a word. He hadn't really planned for the opposite to transpire. But that is what made Izaya love humans. An air of mystery in every one. And she was no exception of this very human rule of mystery. Jiro through herself onto Izaya and held desperately to his lean frame.

"Oh well," Izaya recalculated with mild surprise as he wrapped both arms around her waist, "Didn't expect you to through yourself at me so easily Ms. Hitomi."

"Shut up," Jiro ordered sharply for Izaya to bite his tongue. Luke warm beads rolled down her cheeks. Jiro felt her turmoil explode inside her suppressed mind, "I'm so tired of you. Damn it."

"Well considering your latched on like a leech," Izaya squeezed his leech tight, "I wouldn't say your to tired of me but probably something else."

"No, dummy," Jiro reached up and childishly wiped the tears away with self fueled resentment of being weak in front of him, "I just...Everyone else changes but why can't you even a little bit."

Oh tears! He could hold so much control over his friend if he so much as desired it. A pouty lipped Jiro looked at Izaya squarely in the face. It sent a spasm down his spine, such a desperate look. Jiro was everything Izaya loved about his humans. All in one package and presented at his doorstop with the most pristine bow.

"What do you mean then?" his hand snaked around to the side of her face and cupped it in his palm. Jiro's eyes drooped heavily and Izaya took her against his flat chest once again. Much kinder this time as her forehead pressed to his shoulder and he simply let her lean into him without devilishly make it about something else.

Shizuo changing jobs right under her nose. Kyohei more and more involved with his gang every day. Jiro couldn't even recall the last time she saw Shinra. Izaya was still doing exactly what he did in high school. Out of everyone drifting away and bettering themselves why was he as bad at it as she was. "....You know what I mean,"She mumbled into his black shirt.

This inner turmoil was glorious. The last time she visited Jiro was so combatant that she almost reeked of Shizuo. But in this time had things in Ikebukuro really changed fast enough to affect his friend? Her sadness was excusable to see his handy work unravel before him. So he offered a softer side Jiro clearly yearned for, "I like you," Izaya reminded her from above.

"I like you too," Jiro felt that fall from her lips without even consulting her mind first.

"But you love Kyohei don't you?" His facts placed like chess pieces similar to the ones on his desk.

"I....I just don't want some to take it from me....and Kyohei he just-" Jiro imagined this morning. When she woke to her friend's face beside her own. His groggy morning voice. Messy bed head. The absolute warmth of it all. That was what she wanted the most. To wake up and to him every day.

No doubt her words would sting if he wasted the time thinking about it. But Izaya was not phased like he'd not been phased all these years. All was expected of his friend reenacting the same drama from middle school right through high school.

"But you," Jiro added more.

Oh boy, was Izaya in for a treat to get more out of the blubbering woman?

"Your my Izaya. For as long as I've known you, I've wanted you around. I don't know why. I have no rhythm or reason. I just need you to be here with me."

"It's primal," Izaya interpreted her description to suit his palate more, "Like a necessity."

"Exactly. I need you, to be what I am," Jiro leaned back in his arms and held a steady gaze even after he literally put the words in her mouth, "You could never have children, or raise a family or even take this all seriously."

"This is true," Izaya nodded but wasn't about to let it come out completely serious, "I could help make them."

"No," Jiro followed that up with a sharp denial, "I want it to be special and...to someone else."

"Once won't change anything," Sure Izaya would take the burden of the bloodiness off a certain someones shoulders. Who wants to be bled on his first time? Not any sane man.

"Yes, it will," Jiro shook her head, "I just...I can't with you."

Izaya suddenly gave a her a deep question,"Then why did you really come here today?"

That's easy, "I-..." Wait, maybe she really truly wasn't sure, "Because I needed to know-" What? Why had words left all of a sudden? There had to be a reason she'd come all this way better than the head in the sand excuse of needing information on the assailant last night. Why did she care about this one when Shizuo had roughed up more vagrants in the life than fingers she had to count on

"I'll tell you why," Izaya's detached voice echoed in Jiro's head like it was her own conscious, "Because you want someone to love you but you don't want to be hurt by who you love."

"But I-"

"But you love me?" A brown eyebrow cocked up at the fallacy.

"Well, yah, I do!" Jiro couldn't believe him had he been deaf to everything she'd just spoke of.

"I've confessed my love for you, then what's holding you back?"

"Uh..."

"Trick question, nothing is," Izaya let go of her, "Because you don't love me. I'm a friend Jiro. That's all I've ever been to you."

Jiro groped for his touch again. Missing it's warmth and feeling even if it weren't the same as the warmth she felt this morning. Izaya reached out and took her palms in his but no more, "Some people are meant to hate each other."

Jiro's eyes made it to his hand clasped around hers even as she answered, "Like you and Shizuo."

"Yes. Some people are made to get married and raise a family together."

"Me and...."

"Correct. And some people," Izaya with drew his hand from her left palm. The phone he'd hiested from her now cradled in her numb hand, "Are made to be just friends."

"...Me and you..." Jiro spoke them like they were foreign words even though she knew its truth.

"Me and you," A straight smile beaming from a crooked man.

Still even if wasn't welcomed Jiro stepped forward this time just nothing but a simple hug, "Forever then." she whispered just to feel Izaya nod as he hugged her back.

_Buzz buzz._

The soft humming from her phone startled the woman. Izaya let go of Jiro and she glanced down at her phone.

When the screen lit up Jiro felt warmth spread immediately through her body. It was Kyohei. Instinctively she opened the text to read right there and then.

_'Hey Jiro, we got the store set up early. Wanna come by and see it? Then maybe we could go for lunch. Just a thought :)'_ -Kadota.

"He's much more of a husband/father figure than I could ever be," Izaya confessed with little indifference as he made his way back to his desk to continue the day.

"Yeah..." Jiro's heart was suddenly racing. Her turmoil, gone, was now replaced with sweet drunken butterflies floating in her stomach.

"I'm glad you came by," Izaya smirked at his friend as she made her way back to her belongings on the table.

"Me too," holding her things, Jiro stood motionlessly in front of Izaya at his desk, "I didn't get to see you project.".

"It's fine. Not much different than last time," Izaya shrugged it off.

"Heh," Jiro snorted with a little shake of her head as she slung her bag over her shoulder.

"What?" Izaya asked but returned to keeping his attention glued on the screen.

Jiro came behind his desk just to wrap her arms around his shoulders and offer him the briefest hug, "I didn't see it last time either."

"Oh well," Izaya squeezed back then they detached, "Maybe next time when you need information on some random bystander as an excuse."

"Maybe next time," Jiro finally was now outside the doorway. Staring in at Izaya.

For a brief moment he broke away from the screen to see her standing their with a stupid smile on her faces. It was pointless but Izaya's lips curled up in the corners seeing her foolishness.

Then when a car outside went off, both snapped back to reality.

"The gentlemen in question was clean, just a drunkard with no affiliation. Especially not an AA group." Izaya returned to his work. Not even needing to look at any notes on the man that attacked them last night. He really did have tabs on everyone so a faceless drunk wasn't anything to dig up on.

He didn't actually have to comfort her with such things. But Jiro bowed anyways for the time, "Thanks a lot Izaya."

"Was nothing. I like talking with my bestie," Izaya waved her off.

"...me too," Jiro exhaled with a fading smile just as she turned around.

"Well run along now. Mr. Perfect Guy wants to take you out for lunch," Izya shooed the woman away.

"Bye Izaya." Jiro waved at her departure.

"We'll be seeing you beautiful." Izaya tipped her off as a good bye.

A brief turn around. Jiro cupped her hands and loudly back into his office, "I do love you Izaya! I always have and always will!"

"I love you too Jiro!" Izaya didn't turn towards her as he smooched his hand and exaggerated the delivery of a blown kiss to her.

Jiro caught it and sent her own his way. Izaya pretended to catch Jiro's heart safely in his hand but it was all tomfoolery since she knew he was on a roll now with work. This was her allotted time with the info broker and really she was glad he didn't charge her. Jiro smiled and turned her back to quietly shut the door behind herself. Maybe things weren't changing as drastically as she thought they were.


	6. Chapter 6

This was the place, Shizuo took out his phone and checked the address again. Sure was the address that showed up in his text. Shizuo nodded to himself and knocked four times, exactly, on condo's the door. Then took a step backwards while he shoved his hands in his slack pockets. For whatever reason he felt nervous about doing this.

"Weird place to get a job interview," Shizuo paused a moment to really take in the residential area the possible employer had told him to come to. The street was lined with simple, plain, and quiet, very quiet, houses. Probably teeming with life. What kind of person would hire a body guard living in a suburb anyways?

"Wait, did I even..." He was about to see if he'd noted the name in the paper he'd gotten the job request from.

"Welcome!"

Boom!

"Oh- Shit!" Shizuo jumped when he felt the reverberation of the punch flow back to him. Making him realize the face his fist made contact with.

"Fuck man!" The poor man knelt down on the ground, cupping his nose. Blood pooling in the palm mere seconds after he'd simply open the door.

"Jesus Chirst! Shit-," Shizuo reached down for the man. Trying to repair the introduction he just made, "Shit sorry sorry, shit shit sorry," He carried on in a slight panic. The individual who was going to interview him coughed and Shizuo heard a crunch as he smashed his bloodied nose back in place.

"Fuck Shizuo, I knew that had to hurt when you did it to other guys during middle school but jesus christ I never wanted to be on the receiving end!"

"Uh?" Shizuo recognized the voice from the phone call but now in person it sounded even more familiar than just that.

"What? You don't remember me?" the man laughed light heartedly at Shizuo, "I said my name on the phone. Damn your still that much in your mind too?"

"Hey wait a minute!" Shizuo barked indignant that his wits were being cast out when he really was the one who got jumped out of the blue, "I came down here for a job that required strength. Not a fucking pop quiz!"

"Shh jesus you can stop yelling made. You shouldn't even be shouting at me since your the one who socked me in the nose." the man kept up the careless worry even when he wiped his bloody hand on his slacks and tilted his head back to keep any more from flowing out.

"I said sorry!" Shizuo snapped, "You shouldn't scare people!"

"You shouldn't be so unaware all the time if I'm gonna hire you."

"I was thinking!"

"Obviously about everything but this job?"

"Bull shit!"

"Damn Shizuo and take a chill pill and at least recognize me!"

"What the hell are you....?"

"It's me, Tom Tanaka,"

"Tanaka...." That name was familiar to the blond man the moment he heard it.

"From school, like middle all the way through secondary." Tom grimaced at the aging blood in his hands when it seemed his nose wanted to stop leaking blood. Then he just wiped them on his pants like the other and called it good. With semi clean hands Tom extended a formal greeting finally more fitting to a job interview, "We use to have a few classes together. And we hung out once or twice."

"Your that guys friend I beat the hell out of for harassing Jiro at lunch?" Shizuo tested his memory as he said it. Luckily Tom nodded, with a begrudging chuckle.

"Yah, that was me," Tom laughed while reaching behind his head, "I can assure you though he and I are no longer friends. I wasn't in the betting crowd then and I'm certainly not now."

"Huh?" Shizuo adjusted his blue shades confused at what that had to do with anything.

"A group of guys were arguing that no one could get close to Miss Hitomi without some thing bad happening to them," Tom shrugged carefree recalling the asswhooping he avoid during school but realized this was probably pay back for throwing his ex friend under the bus for that incident, "They were right, but I only expected them to pick a fight with Kadota or Orihara. I knew anyone figured they could take them. Haha, not so much with you though."

"Izaya," Shizuo primally growled at his nemesis's name even though it had so little to do with anything at the given moment, "That bastard."

"Huh, you still hate him?" Tom leaned against the door frame in preparation of a lengthy rant.

Before words came. A fist pounded itself right to the left of Tom's face. His eyes wide.

"Yes I hate that bastard," Shizuo hissed.

"Uh yah," Tom shifted in his shoes so he wasn't leaning that close to his fist anymore. He really didn't care about that. And Shizuo was still the block head from high school. But those traits made a great body guard and sat well with Tom knowing he was making the right choice.

"So the job," He broke out. Shizuo glanced at him snapped from his trance.

"What exactly is it?" Shizuo composed himself in front of his potential employer like he should have been from the first second.

"Something you'll probably be really good at." Tom stepped aside and offered Shizuo entrance, "Please come in.

Shizuo obliged and followed him into the spacious condo. An open foray lead into a quaint sitting room directly in front of the kitchen and dining room. Tom had already moved to the sitting area. A motion by him showed Shizuo to seat himself in the high backed chair directly in front of a couch. He generously took his seat.

"So," Tom watched as Shizuo hesitated before taking a seat across from him. Luckily the man did without the fight there was just opening the door. Tom sat back in his chair looking his acquaintance up and down, "Your strong."

"I guess," Shizuo did agree.

"And fairly renowned in Ikebukuro," Tom asked.

"Or feared. Same damn thing," Shizuo snorted at this reputation that had built itself around him without even spending a second thought on it.

"Perfect," Tom smiled, "I rub a debt collection agency and lately my collections have become dangerous. What with everyone belonging to a gang so they just-"

"What does this had to do with me?" Shizuo crossed his arms.

"If you'd let me finish," Tom retorted, "I need some muscle and intimidation to make sure things go like their suppose to. It seems like you try to get money from one guy. Six other dudes pop up threatening to kill you just cause their in the same gang." A tired exhale escaped Tom, "It's a pain in the fucking ass to call the cops every time you just want to do your job and nearly impossible when half the jobs are under the table to start with."

"That's where I'm coming in? As a body guard," Shizuo mulled that over. It did seem to be something a brute like him would be good at. And he'd be able to stay out of Jiro's hair for a little while each day. In reality getting out of her umbrella was his entire reason of taking this offer. Shizuo wanted to prove to her that he could be fine on his own. Not so much for his own sake but at least for hers.

"Yah," His employer sat back in his seat and crossed his legs nonchalantly, "I'll hire you right on the spot to. Since I already know you and you already seem dressed for it."

"Really?" This was sounding to sweet to be true. Shizuo couldn't believe it.

"Well ya, unless you've committed some string of crimes that I néed to know about. I'll just need to know about them for legal purposes," Tom casually replied.

"Oh," Shizuo faintly remembered last night. The rage, anger and pure furry that caused him to wreck the entire bar, "Well there was-"

An opposing hand shot up from Tom, "I read that thing this morning about the bar fight."

"Really?" Shizuo shocked it already circulated enough to make its way to news. He leaned forward on his seat to hear what had happened since the ex bartender had zero idea and since he wasn't in jail assumed it blew over.

"That dude you attacked, or in at least assuming it was you, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crime," Tom's eyes shifted down to his own twiddling thumbs.

"Oh shit really?! Fuck fuck fuck! Now how am I gonna tell that to Jiro, fuuuuck," Shizuo cursed so naturally that it was kind of a shock. Tom remembered Shizuo's short temper. But he never really recalled the man being so verbally intense. Then again aside from the few classes together Tom didn't really know much about him other than his year book picture.

"Hey man," Tom sat forward, "Just answer me this question."

"Uh?" the blond man gritted his teeth but acknowledged him.

"Did you do it to protect the little lady friend of yours?"

What a stupid question. Of course he did.

"No shit Sherlock, why would I do anything if it wasn't for Jiro?" Shizuo demanded bluntly from the questioning man.

"Hmpm," a small chuckled and Tom sat back relaxed more than when they first started.

"What?" irritation lining Shizuo's tone. The nerve on his temple began throbbing as his simmering blood roiled to a boil.

"That's what I want to hear from a good body guard. Someone who gets themselves in shit just to protect their people. Those kind make great body guards. Now," Tom looked at Shizuo through his round glassed, "You smoke right?"

"Sometimes ya," Shizuo answered. He was caught off guard all over again.

"Save the bartender outfit and your look is perfect! Tough guy through and through my friend!" Tomg got up to his feet and extended a hand to the slow rising Shizuo.

"So what? I got the job?" Shizuo gave him a limp hand shake as he was still a little confused.

"Sure as hell do," Tom gripped his hand firmly until Shizuo returned the assurance, "Stop by my office tonight around ten and we'll start with just a few joints I have been putting off."

"Oh my man, thank you seriously, Tom thanks," it hit home with the man and he vigorously shook his hand back, "Thank you so much. You have know idea how glad I am to get this it means a lot to me."

"Well in glad to had found you," Tom slowly lead Shizuo out of his home.

They stood on the same porch Shizuo had bloodied Tom's nose just a few moments before. This time Shizuo gave a small bow over a fist to the face, "Thank you very much for the job."

"Thank you for coming, wasn't sure you'd show up to a job that took you away from your girlfriend. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow morning Shizuo," Tom gave a warm smile.

"Wait she's not my-" Shizuo tried to correct what Tom said but got interrupted.

"Aye, no need to explain yourself to me," Tom shook his head grinning. Either way the debt collector knew it didn't matter to him. Being asked not to explain it took a weight off his shoulders and Shizuo nodded after thanking him once more. As well as confirming to see him again tonight at ten.

And that was that. Shizuo stepped off the porch and Tom closed his door. This simple and this great? A job he could succeed at and repay his friends for putting up with the bullshit he caused. After last night, today was heaven.

_Buzz buzz._

Like a weight lifted from his shoulders Shizuo happily reached into his pocket and answered the unknown number calling.

"Hello?"

"Hey Shizzy-chan, long time no see." the voice sung out smug as the day Shizuo first heard it.

" _Izaya_ ," Shizuo instantly recognized the slime balls tone. The grip on the mobile device increase as pure hatred for the other man tipped over in Shizuo, "What the fuck do you want?"

"Oh nothing, just wanted to say hi to Ikebukuro's strongest man," Izaya replied jollily.

"Fuck off," Shizuo spat.

"Hehe, only with your lovely Jiro," Izaya snickered. For him even his voice seemed strange.

"Bastard! Don't even think about touching her, or I'll break your scrawny little neck in six different-" Shizuo threatened until the line on the other end clicked off.

"Fucking bastard," Shizuo growled to no one as he slide the phone away. That wasn't a cherry on top as it left the man stewing on his descent down the condo stairs.

"I'd say that wasn't very nice Shizzy-chan," Izaya's voice appeared next to him the moment Shizuo's foot hit the last step. The voice followed by his slinking figure leaned to the side of the complex with his arms crossed and smile enlightened on his sleazy features. Shizuo spotted him immediately and held a tense stance ready to explode that he had the nerve to show his face in town.

"I tried it this morning but Jiro said she wanted to save it for some lackluster looser," Izaya pranced himself across the alley to the other half the buildings all while keeping that twisted smile beaming towards the frothing man. Izaya saw his twitching temples and fists already balled up to meet their mark. Maybe one more poke and he'd quit, "But I tell you what Shizzy! I've never seen a girl want it more from just mere words! I had Jiro all over me this morning!"

That was it. Shizuo broke out in a cold sweat and his mind blamed out while his body fired up and he shot off after the dark haired man like a bullet down the street, "IIIIZZZZAAAAAYYYYAAAA!!!!!!!!"

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Russian sushi! It good for you and good for you wallet!" The freakishly tall russian speaking black man, Simon, waved and tried to usher everyone on the street into it. His one hook and sinker was someone who was already going to come in regardless of his spiel. Nothing short of a grand smile spread across his face, "Ah little Ms. Hitomi! You come and eat! You come to eat your fill of Russia Sushi ya?"

"Hello to you too Simon," Jiro being the only soul on the street coming up to the oddly intimidating man. Even beaming the biggest smile up to him as others eyed her for doing so, "Russian sushi does sound pretty good...but I'm supposed to be meeting some hooligans here too and I bet I could get them to order some delicious sushi too."

"You be so chipper Ms. Hitomi!" Simon clapped his hands over the flyers in his grasp, "Someone has awoken on the correct side of bed today that is good." Surprised that it was that obvious she was in a good mood, Jiro bashfully withdrew some of her smile. Rubbing the back of her neck trying to laugh Simon's observation off as nothing more than quirky remarks between friends. That didn't phase the Russian restaurateur who only motioned her into the establishment, "I think I know some others who share good day with you little miss."

"Thanks Simon," Jiro half hid her face trying not to be too embarrassed as she followed him inside the sushi joint, "I'll make sure they buy some-"

"Jiji-Chan!!" Before she even had a chance to see what booth they were in Jiro got verbally assaulted by Erkia waving her down from a booth all the way at the far end of the restaurant. And shouting loud enough that Jiro heard her loud and clear from the moment she stepped over the threshold. No way she had to second guess where the gang was now.

"No we decided it was Ji-Rin!" Walker, just as bubbly over this long standing topic as Erika, scolded his friend for her choice in nicknames, "It's way cuter for the girlfriend of the van gang!"

"But Jiji-Chan fits so well with Dota-chin!" Erika rightfully rejected his explanation for her own, "It isn't the official ship name but that way when we have one it can be-"

"And that's enough out of both of you," Kyohei broke through the weeb sea before either of them said something they would woefully regret later on in the day.

Without being told again Erika and Walker sunk defeated into their booths but respected Kyohei's wishes. It made Jiro laugh as she approached the booth. Maybe from embarrassment but no one had to know that. Stopping to do a head count Jiro noticed one of them were missing, "Where's Saburo?"

"Oh he'll be right back!" Erika chimed in like not speaking for longer than five seconds might in fact kill her.

"He just wanted to stop and get gas before meeting us all here for lunch," Walker added the unneeded information.

"Awe," Jiro took the only open seat, the one next to Kyohei, and slid in closer to the group, "Does that mean you have to give the van back?"

"Friad so," Kyohei nodded. Nonchalantly he put his arms up on the booth behind them both. Scoping to see Jiro react but all he noticed with Erika nearly boiling out of her turtle neck at this point. Far too much attention drawn to himself Kyohei brought his arms back in and instead just moved closer to the wall to give Jiro that much more space. He did look over at his friend making herself comfortable, "You made it?"

Jiro tucked her bag under the table between her legs just as Kyohei made that comment. Surprised but smiling Jiro looked up at him, "Why wouldn't I silly?"

"Well because according to a certain someone you were- Mmrphgm-" Walker's babbling stopped when Erika shoved her hand over his big ol' mouth.

"What my fellow aficionado was saying-" Erika grinned at Jiro and immediately looked to Kyohei mostly stewing and silent, "-is that Kyohei has started a new pretty cool job and he won't be needing Saburo's van!"

Utter news to her. Instead of the over ambitious smile Erika wore, Jiro turned to Kyohei with a little dip to her lips, "A new job? Why didn't you tell me? Shizuo already didn't-"

"That's why I asked you to lunch today," Kyohei quickly shifted the surprise of this morning into the more manageable thing he'd planned to do today anyways, "Well, I asked _one_ of you to lunch."

Exchanging glances Walker and Erika knew who he meant was them. Looking for a quick way out of that blame game. They got the perfect reason when Simon came back over to the table and Walker jumped on the scapegoat, "Lunch! Everyone who's anyone knows Russia sushi is a no turn down kinda place! We came for the food!"

"And the drama~" Erika writhed with weebish joy in her seat. Only getting elbowed by Walker to keep her cool collected, "Oh- yeah for this good sushi! Obviously!"

"You all come for Russia sushi!" Simon echoed merrily hearing the overly obnoxious praise the duo lapped onto the odd ball restaurant.

"Of course man!" Walker gestured to the menu none of them had even looked at, "We love your food Simon!"

"Then you'll love sushi special today! Fresh out of the can! Nothing beat it! I put you down for all of it!" Simon began jotting down the daily creation special.

Walker and Erika could suffer with the odd creation going to be served to them. But Kyohei had something else in mind, "Actually, I'll just have my usual."

"Make it two." Jiro interjected not ready to feast on whatever Erika and Walker were going to be served.

"Two specials and two usuals!" Simon bellowed happy to jot both down on his pad.

"Oh and one more regular," Kyohei held up his finger, "For Saburo, when he gets here."

"Yea we get on that right away!" Simon took the menus from the lot. Not knowing he gave Walker and Erika the best excuse in the moment they could think to weasel into staying.

Now without the menus to distract any of them. And the cat semi out of the bag. Kyohei found Jiro looking over at him with the most heartbreaking look of concern on her face. There was no avoiding telling her about his little surprise now thanks to his cohorts.

"Yeah well," he fiddled with his bandanna a top his head and pushed it up a little before yanking it back down over his brows slightly nervous, "I got a pretty sweet restoration job, close to here." Jiro's look of worry and confusion why this was announcement worthy wasn't vanishing from his friends face. While Walker and Erika practically were sitting on their haunches with anticipation, "Actually doing some construction too in the same area for the business. I uh- I thought I'd move closer to the middle of the city."

"Ok..." Jiro eyed him skeptically. Still misunderstanding why it was that he felt the need to tell her like this. A worrying seed of doubt forming that he was going to spring something on her unknown like Shizuo had this morning, "But you have been working?"

"Yeah no, I have," Kyohei palmed the back of his neck. This might have been easier if both his friends weren't splayed out on the table watching like it was a personal soap opera. But after the ear full he got once already from Erika, Kyohei knew he wanted to be the one to say it and not the big blabber mouths across from them, "This job just pays well and I was thinking of getting a bigger place....and with Shizuo going to have hours here and there unlike the bar job...I thought maybe a bigger place and you would...you would want to come stay with me is all."

For all the whooping and holler, when none of it came from the one person he wanted it to, Kyohei froze up just as Jiro sat there. Absorbing it simply wasn't enough. Hearing it, trying to process any of it, had Kyohei really just asked her to come live with him? Wasn't this what she'd just spent the earlier afternoon wrestling with Izaya over? Now why was she all choked up about everything _but_ the obvious right in front of her. Kyohei wanted her to live with him. Why was she focussing on everything but the exact thing she wanted?

"Why...why is no one else upset?" Jiro heard herself blurt out before any of what she just said crossed her mind.

"Upset?" This time even Kyohei echoed the same confusion as Erika and Walker when focus came to settle on the woman's odd reaction.

"Jiro if your upset you don't need to I just thought-" Kyohei began but it was for nothing as the avalanche of anxiety from the morning came crashing down on the woman in front of her.

Panicked laced her voice even in the oddest things Jiro suddenly fixated on, "Shizuo kept that behind my back, now you with this job! What happened to telling each other everything? What happened to being best friends?"

"No Jiro wait-" Kyohei waved his hands, "I did want to tell you. I _did_ tell you, I wanted to surprise you. Shizuo- I had no idea either that was total news to me."

With the tightness in her chest crawling up her throat to choke out any words she wanted to say. Instead supplying her only with the anxious fueled ones ravaging her mind. Jiro wanted to grasp the fact Kyohei literally just asked her to live with him. But the turmoil of the rancid voice in her head threatening that everyone was leaving spoke up so loudly that everything else drowned under its neurotic yelling.

Neither the carrying banter from her friends across the table. Or the overly wordy explanation coming from Kyohei right in front of her could do the deed of breaking Jiro from her panic stricken trance. Perhaps left like that forever had the shrill call of a horse not echoed through the street and its adjacent buildings.

"The black rider!!!!" Walker and Erika recognized that suspicious out of sorts noise in a heartbeat. Myth and legend of Ikebukuro here and now for anyone quick enough to see. Literally everything was put on pause by the flood of people heading out to the street to catch a glimpse. Jiro no exception as Erika tore her out of the booth. Nabbing her by her wrists into the crowd until it got too thick for her to keep a firm hold on her. Jiro slipped from her grasp. Instead of being absorbed in the onlookers fascination, the woman swallowed back to her anxious riddled mind. Even if she wanted to see the black rider the grip of fear on her mind wasn't letting up. Why was all this change rattling her so much?

Gargled calls of friends as well as others seemed so far away from her. All Jiro could hear was the chilling call of a horse neither here nor there. It echoed closer but gut reaction Jiro stepped back. This crowd was too much. Everything was too much. She had to be gone and she needed to be gone now.

Breaking apart of the crowd Erika drug her into Jiro realized the saturations of onlookers hoping for the same thing. Somewhere in there Erika and Walker were too. Where was Kyohei though?

Quickly turning back towards the restaurant to grab her things and bolt, Jiro caught a glimpse of Kyohei on the furthest edge of the crowd. He spotted her.

"Jiro..." Just as loud as the black riders call, Kyohei's voice stood above all the jittering crowd noises. Hearing her voice caused every fiber in her to freeze. Jiro stood there staring at him across the way as people, stragglers really, rushed to push their way into the crowd.

Bile rose in her throat. Suddenly and with vengeance Jiro was sure in that very second she was going to hurl everything from her already empty stomach up. Worry crossed Kyohei's face and Jiro knew it was because of her. It couldn't be because of her it just couldn't. There was no other choice now it was coming up too quickly. No second thought Jiro bolted in the exact opposite way from Kyohei and the crowd. Before he could follow her the roaring group sucked him in with people trying to file closer for a look at the black rider. All eyes turned towards the road. Leaving the one looking the opposite way to stare forlorn at the empty streets. Anyone who was human wanted to see the black rider. But all Kyohei wanted to see vanished before he could even say her name again. Swallowing him up in the crowd just like that. Apart from each other all over again.


	7. Chapter 7

Running away from Kyohei and the gang didn't just consist of heading straight back to her apartment. No. Jiro's adrenaline fueled her to walk half way across the city to one of the gardens just to waste away her time anywhere but a familiar setting. The tactic worked only for a little bit. When the woman then realized only twenty minutes at the public garden that she had to make her way back home alone with the sun already wanting to fade behind the skyscrapers. Great, this was the third dumbest thing she'd done today.

Unscathed all be it a little tired Jiro made it to her shared apartment unharmed. In fact even when the sun dipped behind the skyscrapers and she got nervous. It was for nothing when she realized nothing was more bystander than her absolutely unknown presence in the population. Why would she be a target? Not once had she ever done anything to draw attention to herself. And that was remarkable considering who her friend and roommate was.

Lost in thought with the nearing figure of her complex stairs off in the distance. Jiro had expected anything perhaps but the loud shrill cry of a horse echo behind her in the empty street. _The Black Rider._

Unlike before in the day when she didn't even try to caught a glimpse. Now that she was alone it was almost a reflex to turn towards the sound. And as she did so Jiro felt her breath catch in her throat the moment a lightless blackened bike sped past her. Something that lasted probably mere seconds suddenly felt like a lifetime when she saw the reflection of her own unphased expression in the rider's shiny helmet lens. Had they slowed down just to force her to see that apathetic face like a sick joke? No, with how quickly the Black Rider looked away to continue zooming away down the deserted street showed her that Jiro was nothing special like the rest of the onlookers before.

"...I should be more scared of that thing." Jiro mumbled under her breath. Clutching her purse strap tight with the sinking feeling watching the rider disappear in the evening darkness. Where she thought her heartbeat would be raised from being alone when that monster came by, Jiro realize her breathing was as calm as her heartbeat. Nothing about her was scared. In comparison to before at the sushi restaurant, seeing the black rider all alone felt like nothing. Why was there anything scarier than a monster?

Heaving the deepest breath she could manage for the sake of her tired mind, Jiro turned her back to where the mysterious figure had disappeared to. Instead making it up the flight of stairs to her cramped little apartment. Casting a look down the breezeway Jiro's heart sunk seeing the lights as dark and empty as the evening before they left for work. No one was home. She'd open the door to absolutely no one but herself. Without any other choice Jiro let herself into her place. Closing the door behind herself barely before sinking to the ground on her bum. Face buried in her lap as she just let her keys and belongings drop onto the ground without a care.

 _'Why am I like this?_ ' The question wracked her mind to no end. She'd ruined a perfectly good day for both her friends. Whats more is Shizuo probably found out she'd gone to see a certain someone and that's why he wasn't even texting her. Yet alone back home when she came back, ' _I ruin good news and I'm too stupid to even be afriad of the monster outside my front door, what is wrong with me.'_

Hugging her knees tighter with the threat of tears on the way. Jiro couldn't believe how shitty she felt in comparison to this morning. A good day drained just so she could what? Be upset over childish things? If this was so childish why did she want to cry so badly.

Drug up by the one fact she couldn't sit in the foyer this entire time. Jiro got back to her feet, barely grabbing her things just to drag them onto the table by the door and leave it all there. She'd get back to them, eventually. Now all Jiro could push herself to do was try and act normal. She hadn't eaten all day. Though her stomach wasn't growling at her. But she figured forcing herself to eat something was a better choice than going straight to drinking the left over beer in the fridge.

Half way through unearthing an old takeout box of god only knows what, Jiro got a start when the front door opened. Suddenly unsure if she'd even locked it behind herself. The woman set her depression meal down to skirt towards the edge of the kitchen to peer who just invited themselves into her home.

"Shizuo!" Instantly when her eyes lightened on the lumbering blond did Jiro's eyes grew twice as huge along with her sudden smile, "You're back! Erm- I mean home! I'm sorry I haven't been here very long but I can get us-"

"Sorry Jiro, but I won't be here long," Every word he said broke the falsified sense of comfort Jiro had brewing up inside her. There was no malice in his voice, only very poignant facts as he slipped his shoes off and wandered into the apartment as he loosened his bow tie, "Tom actually had an earlier gig than ten that he wanted to stop by. Figured I'd be a good dry run but needed to freshen up my clothes."

Like a lost puppy shamefully tucking their tail between their legs, Jiro followed him with remorse that she'd been so exuberant the moment she saw him. But his little synopses was confusing her a bit, "Tom?"

Use to being followed into the bedroom, as they'd done it to one another many a times having lived together so long. Shizuo paid her no mind as Jiro hung back in the doorway of the shared bedroom, "Tom, Tanaka, I actually think you might remember him if you saw him." Shizuo through his bow tie on his bed that was followed with his pleated vest, "Maybe not now, he's got some funky things going on in his hair."

"Funky?" Jiro really wasn't following whatever Shizuo was telling her. Making her feel even worse about all of the day.

Shizuo gestured above his head and paused like he was thinking of the word, "Y'know, when the hairs all mashed together. It's like ropes but on your head, something locks. Um they're- dreadlocks! Yeah those things."

"Ok..." Jiro clenched her grip on the doorway feeling the same wave of fight or flight wash over her like before at lunch, "But, I thought today was just an interview?"

"It was," Shizuo surprisingly chipper even for his normal annoyed grimace. He turned around after dawning a new dress shirt and was nearly done buttoning it up as he looked over at her, "But he seems to think I'm perfect and wants me to start now. I was gonna wait until I knew for sure but-" He opened his arms in a wide gesture that only paired with the worst excuse for a half assed smile there humanly was, "Surprise, I got a job on my own. One you don't have to babysit me at."

Babysit? Is that all he thought Jiro did when they were together?

She shook her head denying it, "I don't babysit you Shizuo I never said I-"

"This way you have your own time to do what you want to, isn't that great?" Shizuo refastened his vest and finished the clothing change by retying his bow tie just how he liked it for his outfit, "You can get a job you want and between you and me I heard Kyohei was-"

"-gonna ask me to live with him," Jiro finished somberly. Her tone far less chipper than anything Shizuo had in mind. That made him drop the optimistic attitude to cross the room and look sternly down at his friend. Of course Jiro didn't make eye contact.

"You should do it," Shizuo's words less of a suggestion but closer to a command he wasn't going to budge on.

Jiro finally looked up at him but without the look of excitement he'd expected, "But what about you? What about in case-"

"In case what? In case I loose my shit on someone?" Shizuo gestured wildly out at nothing past them, "That's exactly why I wanted this job. It's the best thing I could think to do with this stupid body."

"But we've always- You don't have to Shizuo!" The same panic from earlier in the day was creeping its way into her voice, "I don't mind working with you at your jobs! It's fun, I just- Give me a moment I'll get something together and that way we can just keep things-"

Shizuo had to stop her ramble there before it got any worse, "Kyohei told me you bailed during lunch."

"He what-"

"He was really excited to tell you that man," Shizuo figured he shouldn't be relaying what his friend sent in a text to the girl it was about. But at the moment it was the best thing Shizuo could think of to snap her out of this funk, "Sure he was upset Erika and Walker showed but man did he really wanna surprise you with that cool new job of his."

"No wait it was just-"

"Kyohei, man, was pretty bummed he thought you left and its all his fault for saying something he shouldn't have."

Hook and sinker, Shizuo watched the fight or flight drain from his friends eyes as the reality of what she did earlier really sat with her. For someone who was bull headed Shizuo was constantly amazed Jiro could be blinder about things than he was.

"...I'm scared," Jiro finally confessed the nagging feeling that had sunk its teeth in her since earlier this morning.

That odd statement left Shizuo scratching his head, "Of Kyohei? Seriously why in the general fu-"

"Not of him," She stopped him. Fist fulls of her undershirt being rung tightly back and forth with worry. Jiro searched the words best to convey this simple feeling of fear when so many things were feeding the beast. To nitpick one thing almost felt impossible, "You and I- We've always done this- _This_ works so messing with it just feels like-"

Far from being the most comforting figure in her life. Shizuo wasn't just running out of time to meet back up with Tom but also running out of patience for this tomfoolery, "You've always done what you wanted Jiro? Why is this any different you clearly like him so just shut up and do it."

"But what about you!" Jiro looped right back around to throwing the question on him like Shizuo was the pivotal problem in this hiccup.

"What about me?!" Shizuo's voice raised, this was getting dangerous. He shook his head and waved his arms at her and at their living situation, "Going from having my little brother babying me as kids to you doing the same thing as teenagers! You just wanted Kasuka's job then to watch an idiot like me?!"

"I never said that!" Jiro could feel the tears threatening behind her eyes, "I don't feel like its my job!"

"But you admit its a job-" Shizuo huffed, his temper trembling on the edge of not returning, in a rage he nabbed the unopened pack of smokes and stomped towards the door, "I want to do this job- I want to work for Tom. This wasn't just for you, you know?" His hand on the front door as he looked away from his friend staring at him. All Shizuo could do was shake his head and fling open the door, "Change is good. It's why people live in Ikebukuro."

That was it. Shizuo was gone the moment the door slammed tight behind him. Leaving Jiro utterly alone in what was going to sure not be the shared apartment much longer at this rate. Was pushing everyone away really the change she wanted in her life?

Wiping feverishly at her eyes, arrogant still that not one tear had passed her lashes. Nor was going to. Jiro felt the fear in her replaced with anger. Or at least the closest thing to anger she could liken this burning feeling in her craw too. For as much as Shizuo had hit it right on the head there was no way she cared to acknowledge anything her friend said.

What stuck though was how he said Kyohei felt it was his fault for how she'd reacted. _That_ hurt. Jiro didn't want him to think he was the problem. If anything she always knew who was the issue and it certainly wasn't him. Perhaps if she couldn't digest what Shizuo had just said then maybe Jiro could call Kyohei back to apologize. It would be the right thing to do.

Cold leftovers neglected on the kitchen counter now. Jiro didn't hesitate to grab the one beer in the fridge. Cracking it open just to chug half the bottle before even touching her phone. If she was going to do this then maybe she needed help since sober her had screwed up all day. Taking her phone Jiro plopped on their old rugged couch with her beer and phone in both hands. Save for the fluorescent light in the kitchen that cast a white light over the counter top, the rest of the living area was lit up only with her phone screen.

Bathed in the light of her phone Jiro opened her contacts scrolling right to Kyohei's name in her cell. Finger hovering above the call button it was in that moment the rush of doing just that escaped her like her soul. Gone from her body just like that. Fingertips as cold as the beer she had clasped in her other hand. Now of all times she dreaded the hesitation when one simple click was all she needed.

A second. Really even less than that. But her eyes flickered up to the name above Kyohei's. 

_Izaya._

She'd sat down to call Kyohei and only Kyohei. To seek the comfort of the one person she should have all along. But in that second of hesitation and Jiro realized she'd already clicked up to his name. Ice ran through her veins not even realizing she'd done so.

Darting her eyes over the time, Jiro only momentarily tried to tell herself how bothering Izaya after seven PM would but rude. Kyohei would be at his place and have all the time in the world to talk. Unlike Izaya who she knew might even not pick up. If he doesn't pick up then she'd just call Kyohei right?

There was no turning back before that excuse formed in her mind Jiro had pressed call on Izaya's contact. Even with every fiber in her telling her to end the call and pretend it was an accident. After she heard the first ring on the other end Jiro raised the phone slowly to her ear. The grip on her beer tightening just as she pressed the phone foolishly to her ear.

One ring.

Two rings.

A third. Her breath held hostage in her lungs with each one.

Finally a fourth. One more and it would go to voicemail and Jiro could play it off as a simple butt dial and do what she was supposed to-

_"Well well well, what a surprise. Twice in one day."_

The ice in her veins sized up entirely. Jiro finally felt like nothing in her could move. Yet alone form a word.

"Izaya..." Her voice, why did it sound so far away when she was the only one sitting here in the apartment.

"And what do I owe the prestigious opportunity to talk to you twice in one day hmm?" Izaya's voice, now that sounded like it was right there. Next to her filling her senses.

Leaning into the phone clutching it to her cheek like letting go would drop her down a thousand stories. Jiro couldn't keep it anymore. Everything out in one go round like a sniveling child as she choked on her voice and sobbed into the phone clutched into her hands. Nothing short of the ugliest cry ever as Jiro dropped the beer bottle at the foot of the couch and hid her face with her hand as she curled into herself crying into the phone. Unable to even tell how long she cried like that to him. When Jiro was finally able to reign some of it in to a sniffle and desperate to wipe her face clean even though she knew no one would see her like this, "...I'm sorry, _I'm so sorry I didn't mean-_ "

"I'm afraid I didn't know I was owed an apology my dear," Izaya broke her sniveling apology before it went on too much longer. But before Jiro could blubber something else out he decided to speak up, "I'm flattered to be a booty call but sweetheart I'm too busy with work tonight to come over."

" _Izaya-_ " Jiro whined into the receiver. If anything maybe she called him knowing he wouldn't take anything seriously even if she poured her heart out like she just did, "...that's not why I called you..."

"Oh I know, you wouldn't have left my office today if that was really the outcome for the day," Izaya, though having heard her cry for almost twenty minutes solid, sounded completely indifferent from right now or earlier in the day, "But you'll tell me why you called me again when I know I'm not the person you want to talk to."

Even on the phone and here she felt so see through to him. Jiro wondered if she only called him just to have him read her like the script she was. Where she saw a foreign language. Izaya knew the words to everything about her to a T. Instead of being wary, Jiro sought what she thought was clarity from all this.

"...I upset Kyohei then I got in a fight with Shizuo," She mumbled like a guilty child into the phone.

"Ah Shizuo-chan has a short fuse huh? Who does that gorilla think he is yelling at my little princess," Izaya carried on whimsically about the weight of what she just said, "I didn't want you living with that human wrench to start with good riddance."

"Izaya-" Jiro's lip began to tremble again. She rubbed down her face trying desperately to get the feeling to go away before she began sobbing again, "I don't want to change- I don't want things to be- Different I just-"

What she didn't need to hear on the other end. In fact the last thing she needed at all tonight was to hear the cocky laugh of someone clutching their gut as laughter ripped through them. And Izaya did just that.

"You live in Ikebukuro and you're afraid of change! A splendid joke!" Izaya's chuckles had come a bit under control but he didn't stop snickering as he spoke, "Do you see the irony? This living, breathing, evolving city and you hate _change_. Perhaps you should have found things to love outside this city."

This wasn't helping. He was just repeating what Shizuo said in a much nastier way and even Jiro was picking up on that, "That's not true! I just-"

"Refused to do anything you want? Because why, someone might not like you?" Izaya's voice drew serious for a second and Jiro got a chill to run up her spine like he was talking right behind her, "Cloud your vision, bury your head in the sand, avoid ever having to change as a person because what if someone doesn't like what you have to say."

"Izay-"

"But that's the wonderful thing about Ikebukuro! Hah! Anyone can be anything and nothing all at once! All that matters is the change of it all! Change is what drives the human experience and fuels us all. You fight it but why?" Izaya sung on the other end, "It's why I love this dear city and every single human in it. You are one of my favorites Jiro...I might shed a tear if you let this city eat you up after all."

_Click._

That was it. Just like Shizuo Izaya left no room for Jiro to even interject her side of things. Maybe that was a good thing. If she couldn't form the words to excuse it then it left her to stew and fight with no one but herself. She was the problem, truthfully in everything they'd ever fought about she'd been the problem. Kyohei joining another gang. Shizuo's outbursts. Never even talking to Shinra anymore. Now even Izaya sounded fed up of her childish games. Her friends were checking her off like some lost cause. And she really was going to let it happen that easily?

Shaking but not with the anger or anxious feeling that had taken her over before. Jiro realized her beer had been spilt all over the floor. With no energy to really clean it she took off her ripped blouse and just through it on it to deal with later. Exhausted with even the idea of getting up to clean it up, she just laid down on the couch facing the black screen of the tv. What it showed her was everything she never wanted.

Alone. Phone in her hand. And the puffiest eyes staring back at her Jiro wondered if this really was what she wanted. Why would anyone want this? Touching the keys to her phone the screen lit up and her reflection in the tv was gone. Now her eyes moved to the familiar background on her cell. Her and Kyohei. Smiling like fools over their first dish of russian sushi.

What had that even been? Staring hard at the orange something a top the roll Jiro remembered it was crushed cheetos on the seaweed wrap. Disgusting right? Yet somehow they both ate it all and laughed even harder when their teeth were flecked with orange chip dust the rest of the day because when Simon said it was a daily special he really meant it. Those sushi rolls had more cheetos in them than an actual bag of cheetos. For as gross as they were, here they were smiling about it. Even captured on her phone forever the smile was wider and brighter than anything she could remember in the moment. And the warmth that went with it? Just as unbelievable. Her she was fighting against _that_ feeling because her scenery might change a bit?

Jiro knew people changed. Or always believed they could and would. Every outburst Shizuo had. Or sleazy thing Izaya did to get them in trouble. It circled back to how they could change and they would. Arguing with people until she was blue in the face about change. Where was that hypocritical idea now?

Setting her phone next to her and keeping it on. Jiro felt her eye lids getting heavier by the second. Even half a beer on an empty stomach was going to win over her will. Maybe it was the alcohol talking. Or perhaps laying alone in her apartment with the dreadfulness of being alone by her own foolishness was enough. Jiro didn't want this. She didn't want to feel like this anymore. And when it came back to it knowing she made Kyohei feel like this was worse than anything she could do to herself. His big surprise and she ruined it. In the loosing battle to stay awake Jiro slowly drifted off looking at their picture together knowing tomorrow she could surprise him to hopefully fix some of what she'd done. If not, then she'd try, Jiro didn't care she'd always done what she wanted to before to make her friends happy. This was going to be no different. That she swore to herself as the last thing she recalled seeing what her cheeky smile right next to Kyohei's on her phone screen.


	8. Chapter 8

Woken to the same unrelenting sunlight that bombarded her the day before didn't seem as comforting when Jiro fished around herself only to find she was pretzeled into some shape on her couch. Propping herself up from the cramped positioned earned a loud groan when the second her head was up it began pounding with a vengeance. With the smell of her stale beer shirt below her Jiro knew there wasn't enough alcohol in her system for this killer headache. It was purely fueled by generous self inflicted turmoil.

At least up now the woman fished for her phone without any idea of what time it was. Without a doubt it was nearly almost eleven. Not as late as she'd gotten up yesterday. But not the foggiest idea of when she passed out last night meant she was two for two on over sleeping. If a screwed up sleep schedule wouldn't be the cherry on the top of all this.

Groaning as she rubbed the tired from her face Jiro didn't look at her missed calls or texts first. Instead she craned around to the table. Looking for the tell tale sign Shizuo was home if his jacket was hung on the chair and his smokes on the counter. Nothing.

"Fuuuuck...." Jiro hid her face in her palms as she curled over her knees sure if this headache wasn't going to kill her then she'd off herself.

Shizuo never came home. And checking her phone there wasn't even a text or call from Kyohei. But there was an outgoing call to Izaya. Fed up with herself Jiro through her phone to her side and laid back on the couch trying to absorb all her consequences in chronological order at least.

"Shizuo's probably pissed at me...Kyohei is upset...and Izaya," Jiro sighed, why did she keep relying on him like that was even a remotely good thing. For as overwhelming each of them separately was. Piled together Jiro contemplated if repairing the damage she caused would even be worth it.

"What am I even talking about?" That last thought made her sit up appalled to even think none of it was worth it. Freely talking to herself like a loon Jiro knew what she had to do. But the longer she looked at her phone the more she hated knowing she had to do it.

Resentful but finally doing it she reached back for the devilish little device and found two contacts she knew could answer her question. Erika and Walker. Inquiring simply about where it was Kyohei was working and if he was working today. Jiro was not surprised at the slough of instant responses she got back in unison.

 _'He's working today!'_ -Erika

 _'He's down there right now Ji-Rin!'_ -Walker

 _'A job down in older Ikebukuro come down now Jiji-Chan <3'_ -Erika

It took some wrestling about twenty more pointless texts from both of them trying to orchestrate how and when and what Jiro should come down it. When the fact came up she hadn't bathed in two days came up Jiro finally won some time to process herself without her friends input.

 _'Shower and freshen up for Dota-chin!'_ -Erika

 _'Come down around 3 ish we can totally show you where he's working pretty lady!'_ -Walker

This was the best she was going to get from those two so Jiro agreed. It gave her a bit of time to actually put food in her stomach. As well as wash the stench of last day of work from her. Which was going close to two days now on the woman's skin. If anything seeing Kyohei was the smartest out of all the things she could do with herself as this headache raged on. Perhaps a nice hot shower would take some of the stress away.

What the shower did take from her was at least the rancid smell of musky clothes that were wore a few hours too long. Jiro emerged from the shower clean and smelling more like herself at least. For that she was grateful for. But when she came back into her bedroom just to see Shizuo's things untouched and no idea how his first day of his new job even went left the worst sour knot forming in her stomach. The guilt for the night before crawled up her throat like an unruly beast. Worried ringing of her hair out meant Jiro tried to steady her breath and focus on one thing at a time. Shizuo even said he was upset by how she reacted to Kyohei. So apologizing to him of all people first seemed like the best start.

Without work to worry about. It meant the woman could dress herself however she wanted. Which meant less extravagant than even slacks and a blouse. Jiro sought comfort so it was her leggings and the biggest oldest button down she could fine. It wasn't actually until she had it on and standing in front of the mirror putting her hair up did Jiro realize this wasn't even her shirt to start with. She'd stolen it from Kyohei quiet a bit ago. In fact it was probably the last time they stayed the night due to a little incident at work. Where that one hadn't gotten them fired. Attacking the guy in the bar this time probably meant no call back. Deep down Jiro was growing alright with not going back there. She hated it just as much as she hated working swing shift or until four in the morning.

Staring at herself in the mirror taking the biggest deepest breath she could. Jiro realized she looked even more plain than when they escaped to Kyohei's at work. Plain Jane as it could get. She looked like one of those background characters to the thousands of mangas Walker and Erika read. She couldn't be a main protagonist even if she tried. Here she was suited for the background of even her own life.

Suddenly the alarm on her phone went off rattling her from her thoughts. Thankful she even set one at all Jiro couldn't believe she puttered around her place long enough for it to almost be three already. She said she'd meet Erika and Walker around 2:45 and now it only left her with about ten minutes to get to the east side. Rushing the rest of it Jiro cared that at least she was clean. Flying out the door with all her belongings she could think to grab, the woman hesitated in the door way right as she was going to shut it.

Having to do a second look back at the lonely apartment. Perhaps if this really was Shizuo's new hours then spending all this time alone wouldn't be a good idea. Shaking it off Jiro shut the door behind her. That wasn't for right now to decide.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
To fault Erika and Walker for anything it would never be for not being the most prompt weebs in the world. Where Jiro wandered down the area in town they said to meet up with. She spent almost no time looking when they found her far before she spotted them. Flagged down like blind idiot both of them swarmed her without an ounce of personal space.

"You sure that's what you want to wear!?" Erika gesturing at Jiro's off the clock attire like the trench coat she always wore was better.

"There's probably a clothing place near here somewhere," Walker began scoping out the side streets like a surveying hawk, "I think I saw a kawaii little store two blocks that way!"

"And a make up booth over in that direction!" Erika pointed the opposite way. If they had their way Jiro would have been a human dress up doll.

"No no no no-" Jiro pushed aside both of their drastic suggestions, "Can you just...can you guys just take me to see Kyohei."

Erika frowned still skeptical of her looks, "Like that are you su-"

Walker out right elbowed his friend in the ribs. He had even a sliver more sense that perhaps a fashion show wasn't what was needed right now, "Yeah, but you owe us one."

Jiro laughed softly as she followed them, "I think I owe everyone at this point."

The trio shared a starch laugh but didn't push it any further. They said they'd help Jiro over to where Kyohei was working so they kept that promise. And it really was the truth where they lead Jiro was what seemed to be one of the older buildings to her knowledge roped off with construction that had been happening for the last six months. Cleaned up and left to just the stuff inside Walker and Erika still were the ticket in when some other workers waved at them and gave them the thumbs up to head down stairs.

The entire time down the two flights of stairs Jiro began to feel her guilt crawl back up into her throat. Sour and bile as it was in the apartment. She was here now so there was no turning back. Even when Erika and Walker suddenly stopped at the top of a flight of stairs.

"He's down doing some grout work on the last bathroom," Walker pointed down the stairs.

"We're gonna go hit Saburo up for a quick drop off of some books we had planned," Erika winked at Jiro who was frozen staring down the stairs, "We'll be back later so don't you love birds have too much fun down there."

Gulping know she was going to be left alone. It ended up happening way sooner than she thought. Almost like Walker and Erika bolted just to get her to be alone with Kyohei. Here she was though. If she left now Jiro might as well leave Ikebukuro at this point. And since that wasn't an option she pressed onward.

Steps echoing down the concrete stairs as she watched her footing. The woman descended into the yet to be remodeled basement with its cold dark concrete walls being illuminated by strung up power lighting. Something she was far too familiar with how much she loitered around these kinds of jobs when Kyohei first started them. Now though Jiro couldn't remember the last time she even saw him doing his handy work. A shame really. Watching Kyohei work was always one of her favorite things as teenagers. He had a knack for it. And it always showed in his work. Thinking about it Jiro shouldn't have been surprised he got some high paying jobs if his skill only increased from the last time she saw it.

Startled when she hear a scraping noise. When her brain clicked to remind her that was the sound of grout being spread on tile. Jiro looked to the left of the dark basement. A plastic curtain hung over the only extended part of the room. Behind it's foggy film Jiro made out a shape up on a ladder. Just one person. All by themselves.

'Kyohei...' Jiro's breath hitched. She made it not to just push through that bile she was swimming in at this point.

Swallowing her fear, pride and whatever else wanted to mix with the toxic concoction inside her, Jiro pushed past the feelings just as she pushed past the plastic divider. Her footsteps might not have given her away. But the loud shuffling of the plastic certain did. A top the ladder Kyohei stopped the methodical smoothing of grout just to crane around towards the unannounced sound.

"Jiro-" Her name caught in his throat just like his did. Kyohei used his forearm to push his bandanna up off his brow a little bit. Jiro felt bad seeing he was genuinely surprised to see here of all places, "What are you doing here?"

Scratching the back of her head Jiro tried to act nonchalant about it all, "Walker and Erika let me know where you were working....and I..." She searched for the right words. Looking to him. Then to the black and white subway tile he was laying, "I wanted to come check out what you were doing of course."

Unlike Shizuo when she tried to bluff him, Kyohei never lost his cool about it. Instead he smiled just as he turned around to his work. Resmoothing the grout to make sure it didn't dry too fast before he laid the tile, "I was told the concept cabaret club offering a quiet evening type deal."

Jiro approached beside him on his ladder. Fixated a little on the craftsmanship as she reached a gentle touch out and ran her fingertips along the cold black and white tiles without touching the grout, "...you get better at this every time I see it." Jiro held her fingertips to the cold tile feeling a calmness wash over her in the quiet unfinished bathroom, "No wonder your talents finally been recognized, I bet those new jobs bid pretty high for you."

Kyohei was caught with a chuckle as he prepped his next tile to be laid in the sequence, "I'd be lying if I said it was pretty cool to be known by name when the businesses were talking about hires for the jobs."

"Good," Jiro's hand remained on the tile but she looked up at him with the faintest dusting of pink on her cheeks, "You should be everything you do is amazing."

Her praised didn't earn a smile in return. In fact all she got was a sigh as he slumped over on his perch on the ladder. Kyohei had put the tile up where it needed to go but didn't make a move to start another, "Yeah well, not everything. But I'm working on that."

He had things to work on? Jiro almost found that laughable in her entire life she had never met anyone as text book good as Kyohei. A modern day gentlemen cloaked in street clothes. So his deduction that he had things to work on was humerus to the woman.

"...I didn't just come down here to compliment your handy work," Jiro fidgeted in her shoes but did her best to hold the nerves down, "I came to apologize...for, well, yesterday."

In the midst of her struggle to get that out Kyohei had picked up another piece ready to lay it. When he responded there was nearly nothing reflected back in his tone, "Don't be sorry, I shouldn't have sprung that on you so suddenly. And the audience didn't help."

"No it wasn't that-" Jiro defended opposing his apology to elaborate on her own, "I didn't mean anything because of everyone I just- I couldn't understand-"

That stopped him once more. Kyohei did look down at Jiro with a little bit of confusion, "Understand what?"

Fumbling with what to word this all as Jiro struggled, "All this change- Everything feels like it is and I just- I didn't understand why you'd want me of all people to live with you. I'm just....just so _me._ "

Jiro's words settled into the concrete walls around them. Offering nothing of a rebuttal at the moment Kyohei dismounted from his ladder. Jiro saw no good reason in that as she didn't want to interfere with his work but here she was doing just that. Wiping his hands on his terry cloth to finally come stand before her. Kyohei looked down at her with an unreadable expression. When Jiro wanted to stumble into trying to explain herself and surely only make things worse. Kyohei left her speechless.

Taking Jiro into his arms. Hugging her as tight to his body as he could just like the morning they woke up together. Since then he'd longed for another embrace, one where he was actually awake to enjoy every warm aspect to it. Not even needing to fear her rejection Jiro through her arms around his chest just to bury her face in his green coat. If she couldn't breath she didn't care Jiro wanted to hug him until her arms broke.

"I wanted you to move in with me because I worry about you, idiot," Kyohei inadvertently pressed his lips to the top of her head as he hugged her tighter with the real fear in him coming to light, "All these kidnappings....even some of the members of The Dollars...these people aren't coming back and no one ever hears from them again. I just thought...sticking together might make things easier."

In the back of her mind Jiro probably processed the weekly kidnappings. But it never stuck because so many of the headlines read like tabloids. More about members of the cities gangs. People they knew. All of it seemed so out of her realm with how far from the under belly she tried to put herself. It took things like this for Jiro to realize her connection was far closer to that in every aspect of her life than she cared to admit.

Tightening her hug Jiro chewed the inside of her cheek with the next thing she said, "...you know how much I hate those gangs."

"...I know." Kyohei's voice rumbled in his chest with her ear pressed to it.

"Just like the Blue Squares."

"Just like the Blue Squares."

A long moment drawn out. Neither of them letting up on the hug. This was a long standing fact between the two friends so there was no real argument. Jiro knew that and so did Kyohei. If anything was a stale mate it was the talk about the gangs in Ikebukuro.

Kyohei was the level headed one to speak up again as he and Jiro broke apart from the hug finally, "I'm not asking you to join, you know that doesn't matter."

"I just don't understand why you need to be apart of them," Jiro knew she wasn't going to cry but it didn't keep her from wiping the corners of her eyes for good measures.

"It's not about the gang," Kyohei went with the tried and true method of explaining this feeling he had to do such things, "It's about being apart of something big, something that changes."

Change, there was that word again. Jiro hated hearing it now as much as she hated it every other time she'd heard it used. Kyohei at least kept calm as he explained. Unlike the first time Shizuo told Jiro he was a part of the Dollars too.

"...Why am I the only one who thinks change is so scary?" Jiro looked up at Kyohei, her lips dipped down into a frown that she used to stave off any real tears in front of him, "There's something wrong with me I know it...I live in Ikebukuro and I just...I don't want any of it to happen."

Kyohei understood. Not to the same degree but he worried about certain things when they changed. Every time Jiro lost a job he worried. Every time Shizuo went off the deep end and she was within impact range. He worried. There was so much he worried about that it ate away at him but he never showed it. Perhaps asking her to move in with him was the first little bit of eroding his shell was doing on the matter. These kidnappings scared him. And the thought of one of them being Jiro was more than he could think about.

Taking her hand between his. Kyohei pressed her palm flat against his own while the other hand laid itself flat a top hers. Not once did she pull away so he remained staring down at their hands, "...please, I don't want to loose you. I can't loose you."

"Loose- Me-?" Jiro muttered like a complete buffoon. Here she was assuming she was loosing him. And Kyohei actually thought she would be the one to go anywhere. Jiro shifted their hands so she could lace their fingers together. Giving him a tight squeeze as Jiro brought their clasped hands up to her chest to hold them close to her heart, "...you say that, like I'm not the one standing here in one of your old shirts you dummy."

For as serious as it was in the moment, Kyohei cracked a smile, "I thought that looked familiar."

Jiro broke her gaze away from their hands up to his brown eyes watching her. It was now or never. And her words decided to come out for her, "I guess you can barrow your things back if they're in the same apartment."

Subtle as that was. Kyohei didn't need to be told twice that what she just said was the best version of yes that he'd ever hear. Glad to have his ears covered by his hand Kyohei was sure the tops of them were bright red. Jiro on the other hand a lot easier to read as the same heat came to life on the bridge of her nose. It was adorable. The perfect landing place for a kiss if he so much cared to be brash enough. If Kyohei just leaned in a little more he could place the lightest kiss right against her-

"Wow Dota-chin! Your skills are as epic as ever!" Blocked by the unspoken trio themselves, Erika announced their presences far before either Kyohei or Jiro realize she came in with Walker and Saburo in tow. Perhaps a courtesy for it saved them a second to be embarrassed as both adults dropped their hands in a panic to look as inconspicuous as possible.

"I'm pretty sure this toilet is bigger than my own room," Saburo mentioned looking up and down at the grand room only being polished off by Kyohei's skill.

Laughing awkwardly in the weirdest way possible Jiro and Kyohei looked at each other then to the rest of the group. Saved only by mere seconds for something that would haunt them and fuel Erika and Walker for weeks.

"Well c'mon," Walker prodded the group for the real reason they were all down in the toilet together, "We got a date for our once a month!"

"Half price! Half price!" Erika chanted only to be joined in with by Walker.

Kyohei set his tools in his cargo pants on his ladder before looking at Jiro, "...you wanna join us?"

Foolish to think they'd wanna dine with this hot mess more than once. Jiro saw Erika, Walker and Saburo looking expectantly at her with smiles. Top that with Kyohei's half smirk there was no way she could say no. Laughing but embarrassed she pushed some stray hairs away from her face, "Yeah...there's no place else I'd rather be right now."


	9. Chapter 9

When Russian Sushi held it's monthly half price on everything sale meant there was a slightly bigger crowd to the restaurant. _Slightly_. Perhaps the sign outside that said 'real fish' made even the cheapest wallets squeamish. Tried and trusted menu items the group of friends did like meant they could really pig out on half price day. And sometimes run into familiar faces.

Completely unaware of the trio of high schoolers at the sushi bar when they came in, that didn't seem to be the case when Walker and Erika flagged the kids down. Even Kyohei and Saburo following with friendly smiles.

"Aye guys what's up?" Walker weaseled his way into seeing the empty plates the three of them had already eaten to scope out what looked good today, "Mikado nice choice on the tuna. Masaomi no jerked chicken tonight? And Anri what did we have here even!"

"Hey Walker," The kid sat in the middle of the other blonde boy and girl smiled at the group, "Guys, you all wanting some sushi too?"

"Why wouldn't they Mikado!" The blonde exaggerated, "It's half price for the best sushi in town!"

"It's certainly food," Kyohei chuckled knowing he frequented the place enough Simon would never be upset by the joke.

"Speaking of half price," Just as over interested in things, the blonde boy by Mikado leaned over with hawk like vision on the one unfamiliar face in the van gang, "Who is this _looker_."

Appalled to be scoped out by a brat Jiro was about to raise her voice when Erika stepped in her way, "Why it's Dota-chin's girlfriend!" She framed Jiro like an item on the prices right, "She's finally made her mysterious appearance after our hero has just-"

_Thwack._

Earning the hardest knuckle to the back of the head. Erika shriveled away to reveal Jiro had been the one to smack her upside the head. Far before Kyohei could passively intervene on their sake. Seeing the awkward smile of the woman behind poor Erika left all three kids a little shook at that entrance.

Broadening her smile after that embarrassing outburst Jiro stepped forward and bowed, "My name is Jiro Hitomi, that is seriously all. No matter what those two say." She darted a glare back to Erika and Walker knowing he'd have his two cents to add on the matter if left to their own devices.

"My name is Anri." First the girl softly introduced herself to the woman.

"Masaomi Kida if you _really_ want some fun~!" Of course the blonde winked with that.

But when it came to the dark haired boy in the middle. Jiro found him staring at her for way longer than a simple introduction, "...you look really familiar if you don't mind me saying so." Jiro scratched the back of her head lost for even the foggiest idea why a high school would know her. Before she had a chance to ask why though Mikado snapped his fingers and leapt at his discovery, "You're the lady we see with Mr. Heiwajima all the time!"

Completely thrown for a loop both Masaomi and Anri did a double take from her to Mikado like he was an absolute loon. It was right on the head though leaving Jiro to just laugh, "Hah yeah, he's really right."

"Really?!" Masaomi sputtered and even Anri's and Mikado's jaw dropped that the guess was right.

Jiro nodded trying not to laugh that hard since she often forgot Shizuo was kind of famous around these parts, "He and I are friends...in fact he and I have been friends with Kyohei too, since we were in middle school."

"Middle school!?" Mikado was floored.

Masaomi punched his friend in the arm excited, "You hear that they've been friends that long like we have!" He was jittering out of his stool at this point, "You're so much less scarier than him Mikado so at that rate we'll be friends forever!"

Everyone in the van group laughed at that. Most of them knowing Shizuo fairly intimately thanks to Kyohei or Jiro so the big bad wolf facade made them laugh. Jiro snickered but shook her head, "He's less scarier more like...a big dumb ass really."

Hooked like they were enthralled as the teens had a handful more questions to ask about the strongest man in Ikebukuro. Erika and Walker took the chance to ask the teens if they wanted to join them for a meal. Seeing how the stack of plates from the bar was pretty good. The trio had to decline. Giving Kyohei the best chance to shuffle the rest of them into a booth to finally get some grub. Unlike the rest of him he had been working all day.

The kids were cool about it. In fact getting distracted by Simon for something about his sign. As the adults sat further back in one of the booths. Erika and Walker slithering into their designated side together but no one was dumb enough to sit next to those weebs. So Jiro wedged herself between Kyohei and Saburo in the other booth.

Luckily even on half price day any regular could relay on Simon or Denis being quick about their loyal customers. With the kids being the only other one in the restaurant it didn't take long for them to get their orders to them. Walker and Erika far more daring than the others with what they ordered. The remaining three stuck to what they knew was tried and true. At least the other two never wasted what they ordered even if it was off the wall for what could actually be considered sushi.

Unlike the last time they tried eating together. Jiro actually found herself enjoying the company. There remained a nagging feeling about what to do with Shizuo since the kids brought him back to the forth front of her mind. But there was also thinking about Kyohei. How odd it was holding his hand back at the work site. For as many times as they'd held hands over the years something about that felt, different. And the way he spoke softly to her in the midst of her panic. Jiro couldn't shake the feeling she needed to be with him alone again to ask what that was all about.

In the background though when Jiro tuned back into what they were all talking about post meal. She realized she didn't miss much with Walker and Erika trying to harass Saburo into painting some anime girl on his van. Even going as far to deck it all out like some kawaii on wheels type of deal. Without hesitation it was met with Saburo offering death for even one finger laid on his van. Selfishly Jiro laughed at the failed attempt. When she thought Kyohei was going to get a kick out of Saburo's threat she looked beside her to see him staring at his phone.

"...what are you looking at over there?" Jiro leaned over to him to sneak a peak at the phone screen. Kyohei didn't pull away so it obviously wasn't racy.

Frowning the man scrolled through the single message once more, "It's Kazutawno."

Jiro had heard that name before, "Isn't that the weird dude who pretends to be Japanese but he's like...Italian or something?"

"Kazutawno is not weird," Saburo quickly struck her down, "He's a good man."

Forgetting that was Saburo's best friend Jiro did at least redact the weird part. Though she knew everyone agreed in secret the posing as a Japanese native born was a little odd but didn't make him a bad guy.

Kyohei still stuck staring at his phone, "It's just this text, _I broke a plate_ , that's so strange of him."

"Broken plates happen," Walker shrugged as he licked the last remnants of his teriyaki tuna off his chopsticks, "No crying over it."

"That's spilt milk," Jiro informed him.

"Don't cry over that either." Walker obviously agreed.

Face palming over the fact that correction went completely over his head. Erika piped up with how little help Jiro or Walker were, "Lets bring him some take out then."

"He does love this place," Saburo agreed of his closest friend.

Kyohei mulling over his own feelings on the matter. All be delayed agreed to it, "Sure...um, did you want to go home or-"

Jiro surprisingly shook her head and smiled warmly at him, "No, its alright I don't mind coming along." She checked the time on her phone. Also somberly noting there was still no text from Shizuo. Jiro set that aside and looked back up at the group, "Count me in."

The group piled into Saburo's van with every intent of bringing this nearing lukewarm sushi over to Saburo's best friend. Of course Jiro had no idea who Kazutawno was but if Kyohei vouched for him as well as Saburo, since Erika and Walker could be shady in their own way, she figured heading out with them would fun. Fun didn't expect to take a turn to the lowest income drudges in Ikebukuro. Where Saburo pulled up to was notoriously known for underhanded and illegal activities. While also being dirt cheap. Which must have made it reasonable for any non sane person to live here. The turn overrate was high for tenants but Saburo said Kazutawno never lived anywhere else. He said it was his excitement to 'be Japanese'. Jiro had to firmly disagree but she kept quiet as she avoided touching everything in the narrow hallways.

Swallowed up in her thoughts from the run down building giving her the heebeegeebees meant Jiro followed Kyohei blindly. Lead by a handful of Kyohei's green sweater in her hand. Jiro wasn't going to get seperated in this dark and dank place. Erika and Walker's peanut gallery behind her didn't make a difference and she only held onto Kyohei's jacket tighter when some doors cracked open but no one came out.

"Guys..." Saburo sounded off with his concern when the door he stopped at was unlocked. In fact unlocked was the tip of the iceberg. When the group announced their arrival and let themselves in reality hit them instantly.

Sheets yanked off the bed, the single window of the room ajar with hand prints on it and a multitude of other things thrown off shelves and bookcases that certainly weren't decorating choices made by Kazutawno.

"That text wasn't about a plate," Walker pointedly observed.

Kyohei didn't think anything of it when Jiro stepped closer to him and he simply put his arm back against her for comfort. None of them expected to see this of all things. And they were use to scenes like this. Jiro was a different story and perhaps having her come along was a bad idea.

"It was about a bowl!" Walker added to his earlier statement as he produced a single cracked ramen bowl from the floor. No one was enthused with his dark humor.

Saburo sunk to his knees next to the bed. He shook his head grabbed his friends things, "They took him...He's gone."

"Who took him?" Jiro eased past Kyohei as they approached Saburo. Erika and Walker snooping around.

Kyohei looked around. The struggle seemed so familiar. Especially here in the slums. A hot ticket place for the human traffickers to stop by and pick off any unsuspecting idiot they thought suited the order. Sadly this time it seemed even with the fight put up Kazutawno was the one to fall to the kidnappers just like dozens before him. To the rest of the group they knew it didn't spell out well for the man.

"Looks like those assholes stealing people around the city," Kyohei had to break away from Jiro for a second as he knelt down by Saburo. Placing a hand on his friends shoulder he tried for some comfort, "It's ok man, that text wasn't that long ago. We can try and find him."

Sniffling as a measly attempt to keep his tears at bay, Saburo wiped at his face with a defeated sigh, "What's the point, no one has come back from these kidnappings. We don't even know where he might be heading or if he's already there. Kazutawno is gone..."

"I saw." An unfamiliar voice made everyone's attention converge on the doorway behind them. With the tenseness of the entire situation Jiro didn't mean to but jumped a little back into Kyohei just to nab the hem of his jacket again. Like that of all things was going to save her. Even with the situation at hand Kyohei wouldn't deny he enjoyed Jiro jumping into him for safety. Regardless they all looked on at the little kid rubbing their snotty noses staring back at them.

"Hasim!" Erika recognized that little complacent face anywhere with how many times they'd been to the bookstore, "The perfect little brother helper trope we need!"

Besides Walker no one appreciated Erika's speil but what they did appreciate was the information Hasim was able to give them. All the way from what the three dudes who broke in looked like. To their van they high tailed it away in as well as the license plate number. If there was a better lead then it would have just been Kazutawno being handed over to them personally. This information was good but it left one question.

"All that but how do we figure out which way to go," Kyohei advocated the obvious as he handed over the take out sushi to the kid, "Here kiddo, hope you like russia sushi."

"Sushi is sushi mister," Hasim took the offering zealously even though what his unenthused expression conveyed was the absolute opposite, "Thank you."

"No thank you!" Walker clapped his hands together. Scheming on what to do next in this live action mystery thriller playing out in front of them.

"How about we just call his cell?" Erika offered the dumbest and simplest first step to finding out where to go from here.

Everyone exchanged a look utterly surprised none of them had thought of that up to this point. It wasn't as wasted suggestion though as Saburo hurried Kyohei along to redial Kazutawno's text from earlier in the evening. When the dial tone went through then everyone was leaning in to hear the rings pass by one by one. Breathes held just in the hopes Kazutawno or his kidnappers would pick up.

_"Russia Sushi located here in beautiful Ikebukuro, how may I help you~?"_

There was no mistaking that voice Jiro had heard it over the phone less than a day before. And it was someone Kyohei always knew no matter how long it had been.

"Izaya!" Both them echoed their mind boggling surprise by shouting at the phone like it was a dirty trick with Kazutawno's phone.

"Oh?" Izaya perked up on the other side having heard a familiar sound in the background and a long time friend directly on the line, "Dota-chin is that you?"

"Izaya what are you doing with Kazutawno's phone?" Kyohei demanded, half not knowing if the shady bastard had something to do with their friends disappearance.

But like everything Izaya had a story for it, "Who's phone now? I found this on some dude passed out in the bushes," There was a pause on the other end with some humming, "Seems he's out cold, so I figured it was nice enough to pick up his phone in case it was an emergency."

"This is an emergency asshole!" Jiro didn't care if she was the one to have the phone or not, she was about ready to leave Izaya an ear full if her stressful after dinner activities were due to his twisted little games.

"Is that my dearest Jiro with you Dota-chin?" Izaya asked sweetly of his long time friend, "Now you had better be nice to my girlfriend Dota-chin she's such a lovely girl I would hate for any of this to-"

"Izaya cut the crap," Kyohei wasn't having any of this game of his. Not at least now with Saburo breathing down his neck to find Kazutawno and Erika and Walker walking time bombs before they jumped a random person if it might help their case, "Why do you really have Kazutawno's phone? Where even are you this phone showed up?"

"Aww you don't believe my story?" Izaya faked every ounce of hurt he didn't feel from the accusation. It was short lived though as this was just a side step to getting home with his groceries, "If you must know, I did find the phone in a bush. And by the looks of it this guy is out pretty cold if you want to come down and see yourself."

"I said where are you then!?" Kyohei raising his voice with the slow threat of loosing his temper with this escapade.

"Hmm good question," There was a pause on the other end with some shuffling, "Seems this man passed out in front of Taishoken in south Ikebukuro. Though I'm not sure you're going to be able to get anything from-"

_Screeeekk!_

There was something on the other end of the phone. Loud enough Kyohei winced and took it from his ear when the loud scrapping bang echoed in his ear through the grainy flip phone. Everyone standing around him heard it took and they exchanged a confused looked.

"Oops! Look like Shizuo-chan has found me-" Izaya blew a loud kiss into the phone, "Better hurry Dota-chin those kidnappers are known to work faster than this!"

Whatever he might have tried to get out of Izaya as extra was pointless when the phone went quiet after a crunch. Surely it was Izaya throwing the phone onto the ground. Breaking cell phones seemed to be a passion of his. It was fine though, they had a place to start. Kyohei snapped his phone shut and looked at everyone around him. There was no need for words, everyone knew what they had to do.

Following Izaya's hint didn't end in disaster. In fact what he told them was true. Which was never a promise when Izaya was the one to be dealt with. Like he'd said over the phone though there was a guy unconscious in the bush across from Taishoken. The phone tossed aside was Kazutawno's as confirmed by Saburo. But what stumped them was when Saburo tried shaking the guy awake for information.

"He's out cold..." Jiro muttered confused how someone would even be passed out in the street like this.

"What an idiot," Walker turned to Erika to then share a wicked smile, "Time for plan B then!"

Both of them produced assorted weapons of torture all the way from duct tape to an actual icepick. Where they were even hiding all that frightened Jiro enough to remember not to cross those fools again. Their attempted to torture the man awake was sold short when Kyohei shot them a glare. Pouting but stepping aside they allowed him to do whatever his plan was before implementing a tried and true plan B.

Kyohei hefted the guy up off the bush. Short little twig of a man Jiro was pretty sure even she could have hauled him off if need be. It brought into question what the other kidnappers looked like if this dude was so small. As her thoughts ticked away Kyohei grabbed the kidnapper by his feet and began thrashing him like a human doll. Certain he was buying out the torture plan Erika and Walker had offered. Kyohei kept shaking until everything dropped out of his pockets. And just want he'd hoped dropped out.

"His phone! Good thinking Dota-chin!" Erika chimed with the cleaner option out of the two.

Sniffling his tears away Saburo wiped at his nose feeling more hopeless by the minute, "What good does that do us? Kazutawno could be dead by now for all we know."

"Or he could still be heading to the drop off spot," Jiro denied Saburo the right to be upset just yet.

Kyohei pointed at her with a nod, "Bingo, we'll just call them pretending to be this dude and see if they've dropped Kazutawno off."

"Do you really think that's going to work," Saburo forlorn by each passing minute.

"It doesn't hurt to try," Kyohei advocated as he flipped through the kidnapper's last texts. Definitely not hidden in plain sight was his last text to some number about hitting Kazutawno's place. Which meant there was no way it wasn't one of the cohorts to this entire caper.

Reminded to disguise his voice. When Kyohei got someone to pick up on the other end all he did was plug his nose to make himself sound more nasally. Jiro facepalmed thinking there was no way that stupid trick was gonna work. But somehow in less then the time it took to order a coffee, Kyohei had gotten the other kidnapper on the phone to tell them where the drop off point was. And even to hurry up the transport was going to be there soon. Absolute jackpot. Kazutawno was still alive and could be heard in the background. Renewing Saburo's will to fight as he was the first one back in the van. He hardly waited for the others to pile in before he sped off to where these jerks thought they were going to get away with kidnapping one of their own.

The clock on the dash nearing eleven. Not to mention the van nearing where the kidnappers said the drop off was. Everyone was starting to feel something. Erika and Walker giddy with joy for a fight. Saburgo focused on saving his friend. Kyohei here to do the right thing. And finally Jiro, clutching the edge of Kyohei's chair as she leaned over his shoulder to watch where Saburo was going. Nerves from all areas of her mind going five hundred miles a minute. She was scared and exhilarated all at once. Sure she was more exhilarating than scared, that didn't last when Saburo rounded the corner and right there parked on the edge of the street was a van matching not only Hasim's description but also the license plate number. It was the kidnappers.

"Alright we don't know how many there are," Kyohei trying to decide the best course of action now, "We need to approach this and make sure-"

"Bullshit those assholes have my friend!" Saburo roared. Stomping on the gas pedal he really made it like they simply were going to ram them. Kyohei tried to reel him in while Erika and Walker pumped their fists ready for action and death. Saburo met them in the middle when he spun the wheel just skirting the point of no return of barreling into the kidnappers van. Jiro was sure she felt the wheels lift off one side of the van before Saburo's crazy driving came to a halt.

Leaving the two kidnappers screaming and jumping out of the way as the gang jumped out of the wagon. Erika armed with her icepick and Walker with his lighter and hair spray can, they were simply the back up when Saburo and Kyohei took the front lines. Jiro falling between them as she was weaponless but living around Shizuo long enough taught her a thing or two about hand to hand combat.

"Hand Kazutawno over now!" Saburo demanded of the stunned kidnappers.

"Kazu-what o?" The taller of the two looked to their comrade and scratched his head, "Oh you mean our next pay!"

"Sorry mystery gang," The shorter kidnapper produced a pocket knife from his back, "We've got less than five minutes from pick up and our boss will be pissed if we don't provide em with their goods."

"Don't worry this won't take longer than five minutes!" Erika chimed as her and Walker approached with their maschochit tools.

Out of the corner of her eye though Jiro saw something all too familiar she saw when people confronted Shizuo. The taller of the two kidnappers was reaching for a gun. Immediately she through out her arm and stopped Walker and Erika from walking any closer. The look she spared them stopped both weebs in their tracks even faster than if Kyohei had threatened them. It wasn't until they took a closer look did they see what Jiro was seeing.

"Kyohei..." Jiro mumbled in the hopes neither of the idiot kidnappers noticed she saw yet.

"Yeah...I see," Kyohei caught it as soon as his friend had. This meant any of them could be in danger. One gun only meant one bullet but there was no one here he wanted to take that bullet.

This required more thought that Saburo's rage driving had allowed for. Looking for the best way to get past the two goons. And to the screaming Kazutawno very visible in the back of the van. Kyohei was worried the five minutes before these jackasses boss showed up wasn't enough. Cursing himself for even allowing Jiro to come with. This was high stakes enough but now all he could panic about was that she was just an easy target as any of them. Had he just a bit more time or a distraction then this would be fine. Kyohei drawing at his wits end knowing someone was going to do something stupid. He just needed more time to-

_Screeeek!_

That noise. Everyone lost sight of what they were doing for only a split second to see the exact cause of that nerve grinding sound.

"The Black Rider!" While the van gang echoed the name with enthusiasm. It wasn't shared with the kidnappers when they set back into panic mode.

"Shit man that's the Black Rider!" The one with the knife shook his cohorts arm, "We gotta go!"

"No wait it's almost time!" The gun toting fool gritted his teeth figuring they'd picked the perfect place to stay out of reach of this freakish do gooder. If they were going to get interrupted then at least he'd postpone it.

"Get down!" Kyohei hooked his hand in Jiro's arm and yanked her down with him the moment he saw the fool raise his gun. Everyone else one step ahead in this familiar situation as they made it down just in time when the kidnapper sent a barrage of bullets towards the Black Rider. Each of them hitting their mark. But doing absolutely no good as the screeching call of a far off horse only grew louder.

"Shit man I am _not_ getting stopped by that thing!" Refusing to be done in by a freak of nature the knife wielding kidnapper through open the door. Just to push an struggling and bound Kazutawno out of the vehicle, "Dude leave it we'll get someone else! Just come on!"

Cursing under their breath the staggering kidnapper through his gun to the ground. Not even trying to put up a fight when Saburo rushed over to Kazutawno's side regardless of the gun threat. Kyohei tried to stop him but it was Jiro's turn as she grabbed his hand to yank him out of the way just as the Black Rider's tire came inches from his head.

Wide eyed even for him Kyohei looked back amazed she caught that before he did. All Jiro could do was give him the biggest stressed smile of her life. Certainly all of this was taking about four or five years off her own life at this rate.

While the kidnappers scrambled to escape, the headless rider paused before the gang. It made Jiro wonder for a split second if they were going to do something to them. But when the mysterious rider produced a phone just to type on it quickly to show it to Kyohei and her. Jiro was astonished to see they were simply talking to them.

' _Is everyone ok?'_ Their text read.

Kyohei got up to his feet to see Saburo tending to Kazutawno while Erika cut his bindings cleanly and carefully. The sputtering of crying and hugging from Saburo and Kazutawno lead him to believe they were going to be fine. Even as the kidnappers were putting more distance between them all.

"Yeah I think we have it here," Kyohei nodded as he helped Jiro up as well.

' _Good, get moving, I'll take care of those guys.'_ They allowed just enough time for Jiro to get to the last kanji of the text before they pocketed their phone and made off in a giant hurry. Unsure they were going to be able to catch up in time. Jiro's jaw completely dropped when that silent black little bike of theirs sped off so fast it was nearly there in what felt like a blink of an eye.

Still holding onto her elbow after helping her up, Kyohei looked at his friend and squeezed her forearm, "Are you ok?"

Taken back to hear an actual inflection of worry in his normally calm voice. Jiro felt physically all together even if she couldn't say the same for her mental health. Instead she cracked a huge smile only for a second before throwing her arms around her friend.

They hugged as tight as possible. Kyohei somehow actually shaken by all of that. With those last fleeting minutes he really didn't know what to do had the headless rider not show up. In their debt for now all he did was huge Jiro until he felt like he would snap her in half. She didn't seem to mind as she returned the favor.

"Guys your ok!" Walker the first one to break away from Saburo and Erika helping Kazutawno back to the van. And breaking up their hug with his own personal bear bug around the both of them.

For as stressful all of that was. The moment everyone had a second to breath in front of van. They all burst into tears laughing. It was nearly midnight and they went on record for being the first in Ikebukuro to thwart the kidnappers in this town for human trafficking. In celebration getting out of their as fast as possible was the best thing any of them could think of.

Safely away from all this mess and back into the safer parts of the town. Kyohei had to excuse himself from the van when Saburo stopped by a little 24 hour mart with Kazutawno. Jiro didn't complain except for maybe the two nerds in the back of the van now painstakingly going over their mangas to decide which one fit their recent escapades to a T. Best at tuning that out Jiro slipped her way back into the front passenger seat to watch what the three dorks outside the van were doing.

What they came out of the mini mart was individual pints of milk. From all she could tell none of them were flavored either. But it didn't stop from Saburo counting down to one on his hand and all three men through back the containers of milk to chug them back. Jiro watched in amused horror as Kyohei drained that carton just as dry as the other two had. Leaning into the dashboard she found herself smiling like an idiot watching him in whatever weird little ritual they were all doing.

For all the seconds taken up by watching Kyohei do his little thing with the dopiest smile on her face. Jiro got ripped from that moment of peace when everyone was piling back into the van.

"Let's get some food," Saburo offered since it had now been awhile since dinner and there wasn't anyway he wanted to ditch Kazutawno just yet after that night.

Finally like she'd hit the wall Jiro realized another round of more rowdy food just didn't sound good. Perhaps tired. Or just at her limit for the past three days for crazy. Jiro finally had to pass on an offer, "I gotta go home guys, I'm really glad your safe but I need to get home." Part of her did want to stay but after talking to Izaya another part of her really wanted to see if Shizuo had come home yet.

"I'll go with you," Kyohei offered without a second thought.

" _Oooo_." Erika and Walker cooed from the back seat.

Not needing the attention Jiro laughed it off like it was nothing, "No it's fine I can get home."

"After all that?" Kyohei looked at her unenthused, "I don't think so."

Less than willing to fight it Jiro admitted perhaps the company home would be nice. It was settled before she knew it though. Kyohei stepped aside and let Kazutawno take the passenger seat. Even ushering him to enjoy the time with the gang. They needed it and that they would be fine walking back on their own. Saburo's offer to drive them there denied Jiro said her place was only a few blocks away. And certainly didn't need to dampen their victory just because she was finally drained for anymore excitement.

Like pulling teeth Jiro and Kyohei finally got the blessing to allow them to walk home like grown adults. Kazutawno thanked them once more profusely for saving him. No stopping the party van now Saburo rolled onward with certain they would probably end up drunk at Russia Sushi at some point. It was a nice but when Kyohei looked over to Jiro beside him, suddenly walking her to her place was the best place he could think to be.

Walking anywhere in Ikebukuro in the middle of the night was as otherworldly as it was in any big city. Overheard lights shimmering enough to break up any stars in the night sky. Street lamps lighting the way to each little place no matter how small it was. The city was both a tourist trap and home at the same time. Getting to her apartment complex was so easy they could do it blindfolded. Even drunk, which had happened on a few occasions.

But the walk was quiet. Not for lack of words between the two. There was simply nothing that needed to be said when their shoulders repeatedly bumped into one another. Even allowing their hands to brush once in a while. Thankful for the cool night air to keep any red cheeks at bay. Jiro and Kyohei realized they reached their destination far before either of them were ready to seperate.

"...do you...wanna come in?" Jiro couldn't believe what she heard herself say. Really offering Kyohei to come in her dinky little apartment. But really it just came down to the fact she didn't want to loose this feeling from him yet. Instead of running away from it, she ran with it.

Kyohei looked past her to the darkened window behind them. Curtains drawn either no one was home or Shizuo was sleeping which didn't bother him. So he looked down to Jiro and smiled, "Sure."

Opening herself up as well as the apartment. Jiro held her breath wondering if Shizuo had ever come back. She opened the door to darkness without really any sign that someone had been here since she left this afternoon. Sighing softly Jiro walked in with Kyohei following. Shutting the door behind them Jiro stood there for a second seeing her empty apartment less like home each time she came in. Kyohei laid a hand on her shoulder getting Jiro to part with looking at the dark room and up at him. It wasn't a lot but that creeping smile on his lips was enough to remind her to take a deep breath.

Going through and turning on the lights unsure of how she even left her place earlier. Jiro was so happy to see she'd picked up the beer soaked shirt at least. Not pristine but not a pigsty either so Jiro went on her way. Flicking on the kitchen lights though Jiro was surprised to see an empty box of cigarettes on the table.

"Damn it Shizuo..." Jiro realized had been home all he did was not throw his trash away.

"Wait there's something in there-" Kyohei stopped her seconds before the carton was tossed in the trash.

"Huh?" Jiro hadn't noticed anything. But upon closer inspection Kyohei was right. A little piece of paper folded and tucked in the carton.

Picking out the trash and tossing the cigarette carton away. Jiro unfolded the paper confused why Shizuo left a note instead of just texting her. Scanning over the paper Jiro felt her heart drop but not in the panic stricken way that it had done before. Instead this was almost, comforting.

"What did he write?" Kyohei snooped closer for a look as he peered over Jiro's shoulders.

Sighing softly Jiro held it up so he could read it while also summing up with Shizuo had jotted down, "Guess he did come home, but seems Tom is gonna be more of a full time thing that he thought. Though I don't think he's upset by that."

"Tanaka?" Kyohei clarified they were talking about the same Tom. Of course Jiro nodded since Kyohei had a better memory for faces than she did. Taking the paper to read it thoroughly Kyohei figured it made her a little sad but didn't let that stop him from trying to make the best of it, "Guess you'll be needing a more steady roommate."

Jiro snorted, it was a good attempt at being a smooth talker. Though Kyohei never had a knack for it like some others she knew. It was still appreciated in the moment, "You still think I'm roommate material."

Kyohei set the paper down on the table and looked at her without an ounce of amusement to his voice, "After tonight, I'd rather you never be alone again. But I understand if you need your time."

Tonight, it really had made Jiro realize how close to all this chaos she was. Something about living in Shizuo's shadow made her think nothing like the kidnapping she witnessed tonight happened. But it did. And all around her. Sucking her into it in fact just that easy. That was all, scary.

Jiro latched herself into Kyohei once again. Unlike the other hugs before when he went to hug her too. She grabbed onto him without asking. Only squeezing him hard just to bury her face into his jacket. Kyohei was surprised but not as surprised for what she said afterwards, "Stay, please, at least for tonight. That entire thing was....scary."

She wanted him to stay. She actually wanted him of all people to stay. And was asking like there was even a slim chance he was going to go anywhere tonight. Kyohei released the hug not to push her away. No he let go just to grab her face between his palms and make Jiro look up at him. His brown eyes searching her face for any slip of the chance she didn't mean it. But when Kyohei couldn't find a trace of it the man smiled shyly, "I'm not going anywhere, ever."

Jiro felt her bottom lip tremble. How embarrassing could that be so she did her best to mask it with a smile as she looked back up at him, "...I love you."

Kyohei froze. He'd heard it a million times but it never felt directed at him. But she was looking at him without any other person around them. There was no way she was talking to anyone else but him. For all the calm he held onto Kyohei suddenly realized he was the lamest guy ever without anything to say to sweep her off her feet. So he did the best thing.

Taking the chance with her face in his gentle hands Kyohei pressed his lips against Jiro's as he'd dreamed for years at this point. Warmer, softer and far more tender than he ever could have imagined in his wildest dreams. Just to kiss her finally was enough. When Jiro pushed back into the kiss that was something off the chart Kyohei couldn't ever be prepared for.

The hug was no longer a vantage point. Jiro moved her hands up his chest just to snake them behind his neck. Not meaning to in the midst of pulling herself into his kiss. She snagged his bandana and pulled it off his head completely. It was enough to make Kyohei break the kiss surprised.

Fixated on each other inches away from their faces. Jiro was pretty sure she could still feel her lips buzzing with his kiss. Kyohei staring at her in a daze now that she could see his brown eyes wide and in awe. He wasn't going to hide his blush now. Jiro didn't care because she knew her face was just as red.

"...I love you too," Kyohei piped out hearing his voice crack embarrassingly like they were teenagers all over again. Not to mention how many times he had practiced saying exactly that since they were kids. Now as it rolled off his tongue it was as clunky and meaningful as Kyohei knew it would be.

He wasn't prepared to have Jiro push herself onto him all by choice this time. Not even moving a muscle to be stunned by the neediness behind the gesture until Kyohei got himself out of the clouds to kiss her back. Heating up second by second. Perhaps by the end of it there was going to be good reason Shizuo didn't come back that night. Jiro knew she wouldn't be alone. Nor would she ever need to be alone again. Kyohei was everything she'd ever wanted. All she was scared to do was change. But if changed felt as good as his hand traveling through her hair and the taste of his lips. Then Jiro wasn't about to run away from this ever again.


End file.
